Porsche unveiled a hybrid that the most gasoline-soaked speed demon can love as European automakers hotwired their electric-car programs at the Geneva auto show this week.
The radical 918 Spyder concept car blends Porsche style with a 0-60 m.p.h. time around 3 seconds and 198-m.p.h. top speed. Porsche projects 78-m.p.g. fuel economy VGP-BPS9/B , VGP-BPS9A , VGP-BPS9A/B , if the driver has a light foot on the accelerator. That seems unlikely given the concept’s mid-mounted V8 engine and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Porsche says the plug-in hybrid could cover 16 miles on battery power alone. The hybrid power pack, which drives the front wheels, can also be used for extra acceleration when the engine’s 500-plus horsepower just aren’t enough.
Porsche plans to build its first plug-in in 2013, the Web site the Detroit Bureau reports.
Volkswagen promised hybrid or electric versions of its Jetta, Golf and Passat cars, Up minicar and Touareg SUV.
Meanwhile, Daimler has agreed to develop a new brand of electric vehicles with Chinese battery specialist BYD. BYD, which exhibited several electric vehicles at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, hopes to begin U.S. EV sales in the next year or so.