PORSCHE 918 SPYDER RING TIME,PICTURES AND VIDEO FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW 2013

Porsche 918 Spyder Ring time, pictures and videos: Frankfurt motor show 2013

The Porsche 918 Spyder has been fully unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show, the first time the 214mph supercar has been seen in Europe without a racing livery-inspired disguise. Porsche has also just confirmed that the 918, when fitted with the optional Weissach package, has lapped the Nurburgring in 6:57.

The record-breaking run was carried out last week with Porsche factory race driver Marc Lieb behind the wheel, battering the car's previous lap time of 7:14, and shaving 14 seconds off the previous record for a car with 'global road homologation', set in 2009 by the Gumpert Apollo Sport. The 6:48 record set by the road-legal Radical SR8LM in 2009 still stands. Driving the full lap at an average speed of over 111mph, the 918 was running road-legal Michelin tyres. Porsche previously sent out an image of its LaFerrari and McLaren P1-rivalling hypercar via Twitter, during an outing in the USA's Monterey Auto Week. We’ve already driven the 918, but this is the first time the production-ready version has been seen in Europe.

The 918 features a full carbon chassis and high-revving 4.6-litre V8 capable of producing 612bhp at 8600rpm. The 918 revs all the way up to 9150rpm. In addition the hybrid electric motors contribute a further 270bhp, equaling a combined power output of 875bhp.

All of this is transferred to all four wheels (petrol motor through the rear axle, a pair of electric motors through the front and rear axles) via the latest generation PDK gearbox, which offers remarkable shift times as quick as 0.05sec.

Dubbed a plug-in hybrid’, the Spyder can be driven around 20 miles on electric power alone and its lithium-ion battery can be charged from domestic power sockets. Priced in the UK from £628,000, or £745,000 for the Weissach performance package.