Drag race: Porsche 918 Spyder vs 911 Turbo S

The Porsche 918 Spyder is one of the most iconic hypercars ever made. So, it should have no trouble out-dragging a (relatively) humble Porsche 911 Turbo S, right? Well, you’ll just have to watch this drag race to find out… 

In case you’ve been living under a fossil-fuel-free rock for the last decade or so, you’ve probably heard of the Porsche 918 Spyder. This game-changing hybrid hypercar was one of the most futuristic performance machines ever made when it appeared in 2013.

Not only is it arguably the wildest-looking Porsche ever made, but it’s also one of the most complicated. It’s powered by a combination of dual electric motors and a mid-mounted naturally-aspirated V8.

Unusually for a hypercar (which means pretty bloomin’ unusual) this 4.6-litre unit vents its exhaust gases vertically upwards through a perforated engine cover like the chimney of a steam train. This is a hybrid, remember…

With all of its power-producing appendages working together, the 918 Spyder delivers 887hp and a whopping 1,280Nm of torque. This is metered out to all four wheels with the help of a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox with launch control. All in, this complicated concoction of combustion engine and electrical components weighs just 1,640kg.

The comparatively back-to-basics 911 Turbo S chalks up 1,674kg despite not having the burden of any complicated hybrid gubbins. Its 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat six produces 650hp and 800Nm of torque. Again, quite a lot less than you get in the older 918.

On the face of it, then, the Turbo S has quite a hill to climb, but it does have a limpet-like four-wheel-drive system and lightning-quick seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox to help make the daunting ascent possible, if not necessarily probable.

So, which car will have the edge in carwow’s signature quarter-mile drag race? Watch the video to find out…

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