The (Very Few) Drawbacks of Driving the New $845,000 Porsche

In a nondescript brick building in the middle of Stuttgart, Germany, is a nondescript desk where dreams come true. In exchange for a few signatures, a scruffy journalist (or a wealthy sheik) can get the keys to an $845,000 Porsche.

“These guys must have very good insurance,” thinks the journalist as he shows up for the test drive in a car he could never afford.

Some background: I was in Germany for a week, reporting a Bloomberg Businessweek feature on the new Macan, a small crossover SUV that Porsche hopes will attract a new kind of customer. On the last day of the trip, Achim Schneider, Porsche’s lead press handler, cracked a wry smile and said: “We’ve got a little bit of a surprise for you.”

Porsche engineers are a pragmatic bunch. They knew I had to drive something to the R&D center about 30 minutes away. And a 918 Spyder would be an uber-efficient option. It goes 214 miles per hour, and it’s a hybrid. Heck, it’s a double-hybrid with two electric engines boosting a gas power-plant (albeit a massive one).

This is the vehicle that shattered the production record at the famous Nurburgring. It’s the design you would get if you gave a blank check to a hippie, a 12-year-old boy, and a few rocket scientists.

The flaws of the car, however, were evident immediately. With a passenger riding shotgun and the roof panels stowed in the hood’s tiny hatch, there was nowhere to put a sandwich. I chose a little shelf right in front of the instruments, which were full of numbers that didn’t seem believable anyway.Secondly, it takes pilates techniques to check the blind spots, which is something one wants to do when maneuvering around a parking lot full of brand-new Porsches. After toggling a little dashboard switch to “R,” I leaned out the window like a fisherman backing a boat into the water.

Also, a big red button on the control panel screams to be pushed. Sort of tacked onto the center of the steering wheel, it’s a feature straight out of Q’s James Bond lab. Apparently it burns all of the battery—and much of the gas—in a sprint for maximum speed. “I don’t think we’ll be touching that today,” said Thomas Becki, my gracious chaperone.

We pulled out, ghosting up to an intersection with a whisper. Yet another opportunity missed. I imagined a midlife crisis and realized, in such an event, the 918 would do nothing to announce my presence, beyond, you know, looking sleek and shiny.

There was, however, a cupholder. Too little, too late, Porsche.

We slipped onto the autobahn, merging and creeping up to about 70 miles per hour as silently as a sailboat. The two electric engines spun like furious little robots, while the big gas-powered beast snoozed just ahead of the rear axle.

Ahead of us, a line of Audis and BMWs stretched like a parade of teutonic barnyard animals. Never has an RS7 appeared so dopey and pedestrian. “You need to get closer to make them move over,” Becki coached. “When they do, make sure to put the pedal all the way down.”

I nudged forward, remembering the big green carbon-ceramic brakes I had seen behind the wheels. The cars, as promised, drifted to the right lane. I stomped per Becki’s instructions and flinched as a wet booming crackle erupted behind my head. The engine was awake, and it did not seem happy about it.

This is where the ride went into life-imitating-art territory. I was no longer driving on the autobahn—I was just watching a GoPro video that someone had sped up for effect. The gears in the transmission were outstripping the gears in my head. I wasn’t really even steering, just kind of holding on and leaning a little. The only thing that tethered me to reality was the feeling of the seat back eagerly trying to collapse my rib cage.

As a younger man, I was lucky enough to break the sound barrier riding in the back seat of a Blue Angels F-18. Porsche’s speed machine made much more of an impression.

You've waited for quite some time to get your brand-new, near-million-dollar Porsche supercar. You've been patient, and you've laid out a lot of money. The day has arrived, and your beautiful and technologically advanced supercar is here... and now it needs to go back in for some service. Such is life when your car is on the bleeding edge of the technological envelope.

Porsche, according to Automotive News (subscription required), had to recall 46 918 Spyders worldwide due to a rear axle issue (five in the U.S.). The recall occurred back in July, with each respective owner being contacted by their specific sales representative. There were no crashes, or driving issues that prompted the recall. Rather, Porsche discovered the potential defect during routine quality control inspections.

The first examples of the $845,000 halo car form the future were delivered to eager customers in March. So it seems that the discovery, recall, and fix of the affected cars happened quickly and rather quietly.

No word from Porsche on what exactly was found to prompt the recall, just that it had to do with rear axle components.

A pricey Porsche went up in flames at a gas station northwest of Toronto, leaving one of the judges of Dragons' Den in search of a new ride.

The silver-coloured Porsche 918 Spyder caught on fire Sunday night at an Esso gas station in Caledon, Ont., near Hurontario Street and King Street.

Some people driving by captured video of the burning sports car.

Witnesses say the fire began after the gas overflowed and then ignited from the vehicle's exhaust heat.

The car belonged to Michael Wekerle, one of the judges on CBC Television's Dragons' Den.

Wekerle was not injured in the fire. The car was totalled.

The burned-out car has been towed to Wekerle's nearby Caledon property. He had paid $900,000 US for the vehicle and taken possession of it on Sept. 3.

Porsche sales are up across the board, with the automaker from Stuttgart confirming that its sales to November are already higher than its 162,145 record achieved in 2013. A small part of that figure is made up of sales of the 918 Spyder, which Porsche has confirmed is now sold out. Yes, all 918 build slots for the car are taken, so if you’re still keen for one you may have to settle for a used example.

The U.S. accounted for the majority of 918 Spyder sales, with 297 examples destined to land here. China and Germany were the next biggest markets, with each accounting for roughly 100 units. Pricing for the plug-in hybrid supercar started at $845,000.

Buoyed by the success of the 918 Spyder, Porsche will launch a successor in due course. The information was confirmed to Autocar by the automaker’s R&D chief Wolfgang Hatz.

“Will we build a successor to the 918? Yes,” Hatz said. “Not immediately, but not in 20 years' time either.”

The Porsche exec went on to explain that projects like the 918 Spyder help develop experience and technology that can be applied in other areas and vehicles.

Note, while it may be some time before we see another groundbreaking supercar like the 918 Spyder, Porsche may fill the gap with another, less extreme model, something akin to a modern-day 959.

Porsche is recalling 205 of the limited-edition 918 Spyder to replace defective chassis parts, the second quality issue to affect the German carmaker’s most expensive model.

Porsche is taking the “precautionary measure” because it can’t guarantee the parts permanently, the Stuttgart-based unit of Volkswagen AG (VOW) said in a statement yesterday.

The fault was discovered during in-house quality tests and no complaints have been registered. The fix will take about two days to complete and will be made by appointment starting in 2015.

Production of the $845,000 plug-in hybrid racer was limited to 918 vehicles to underscore the exclusivity of the car and the brand. Porsche sold the last of the supercars in November.

Porsche already recalled 46 of the 918 Spyder earlier this year to fix a potential defect with rear-axle components. No accidents or injuries were reported related to that fault.

Quality issues have been a growing problem in the auto industry. Recalls in the U.S. reached a record of more than 60 million vehicles so far this year, many of them linked to ignition switch failures in General Motors Co. vehicles and cars using air bags from Japanese component maker Takata Corp.