The world was ablaze with next-gen hybrid hyper cars when the Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1 and LaFerrari launched simultaneously at one fateful Geneva motor show. However, Porsche’s deeply rooted motorsport aspirations soon provided a tantalising peep at what might become of the 918. Dubbed the Porsche 918 RSR, the aim was to develop a race winning machine.
Back in 2011 Porsche revealed the 918 concept, a hybrid hyper car designed to be a halo model for the German Marque. The following year at the Detroit Motor Show a hardened motorsport derivative revealed itself. This 918 RSR stated very clearly that Porsche wanted to take its top-flight performance car racing, something that would have fit very well with the up and coming Le Mans hyper car regulations later this year.
Far from a 918 with a wing stuck on the back, the heavily modified concept utilised the very best of old and new technology. At its heart was a derivative of the RS Spyder 3.4-litre V8, an engine that boasted 556bhp and a redline of 10,300rpm. This screaming motor was then supplemented by a pair of electric motors for an additional 201bhp. Those quick at maths have already worked out that the 918 RSR kicked out some 757bhp.
Open the door to its carbon fibre reinforce plastic monocoque to find a rather retro brown leather interior. Stripped-out of course, but retaining a few stylistic touches to keep motor show punters happy. Something that was far from a style statement was the huge flywheel accumulator bolted to the floor where the passenger seat would have been. Looking a bit like Doc Brown’s flux capacitor from Back to the Future, this flywheel captured energy that could be generated under deceleration. Spinning at up to 36,000rpm, the unit was developed from something similar that ran in the Porsche 911 RSR. Boosting power for 8 seconds or supplementing the V8 in order to save fuel during endurance events, there’s no denying that it’s a potent package.
Take a closer look at the Porsche 918 RSR’s design and you’ll see some wonderful throwbacks to the iconic 917 racer. Porsche are adamant that its blue and orange livery doesn’t hark back to the Gulf liveried cars, but we think that’s just the company line required to keep things friendly with Gulf Oil. Take a look at the turbine on top of the engine cover, a clear reference to the 917, but repurposed to aid cooling. A design trait all of this cars own are the immensely cool side-exit exhausts that could rival military artillery for scale.
Officially speaking the 918 RSR was a rolling laboratory for Porsche, and something it was using to help develop the hybrid drivetrains of future racing cars. In fact, much of this tech ended up contributing to the highly successful next-gen GT3 RSR models, but the 918 RSR never turned a wheel in anger. Why? It was a little ahead of its time.
At this point in time hybrid racing cars are the norm and electrification is everywhere, but a decade ago this notion was all still rather novel. Porsche reportedly lobbied hard to get the 918 on the grid, but its ineligibility for any category of racing would have meant major modifications would have been necessary. Said changes marked something of a backwards step for the onboard tech, and so plans to hit the grid were shelved.
It’s believed that the 918 RSR still exists inside Porsche’s vault of secret and hidden cars, but it hasn’t been seen in public for quite some time.
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Keyword: The Porsche 918 racer that never raced