Porsche hybrid sports car an expensive ride

Porsche SE, the German automaker merging with Volkswagen AG, will sell the 918 Spyder hybrid sports car, its most expensive model ever, for $845,000 in North America and limit production to 918 vehicles.

The first cars, available for order today, will be delivered to buyers beginning in November 2013, the Stuttgart, Germany-based company said in a statement. The Porsche plug-in hybrid is part of a wave green supercars as luxury-car makers try to make fuel efficiency palatable for their customers.

Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) AG, the luxury-car leader, is developing the i8, a hybrid sports-car that will have carbon-dioxide emissions similar to a compact vehicle. Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz will roll out a battery-powered version of the gull-wing SLS supercar in 2013.

"Performance green cars are a very necessary statement for the premium brands about what this technology means to them," said Christoph Stuermer, a Frankfurt-based analyst with IHS Automotive. While mass-market carmakers are concerned about the costs of owning electric cars, "the premium brands seem more worried about the fun part."

The two-seater Porsche hybrid will accelerate to 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds and soar to a top speed of 320 km/h, relying on a 500-horsepower V8 engine and 218-horsepower electric drive system that allow the vehicle to run more than 25 kilometres on electric power. The car's lithiumion battery can be recharged from a conventional power outlet in Germany in three hours.

Porsche is adding models to meet a goal of doubling the company's annual sales to as many as 150,000 vehicles over the medium-term and benefit from savings from the planned combination with Volkswagen.

The Spyder hybrid is based on the Carrera GT supercar as well as the 917 and RS Spyder. The car will have a safety frame reinforced with carbon fibre.