Automotive

ED209
[Purist]
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The Porsche 918 Spyder at Thermal Club - Part 1

I was lucky to be invited by a fellow PuristS to attend a very special event for the Porsche 918.  The Porsche 918 Spyder is a mid-engine hybrid supercar powered by a 4.6L V8 engine paired with two electric motors.  This is Porsche's second plug-in hybrid car with the first being the Panamera S E-hybrid model. 




For this special occasion, Porsche chose a unique location, The Thermal Club which is private motorsports facility located nearby Palm Springs, California.  The Thermal Club features 4.5 miles of racetrack, full paddock, skid pad, a Clubhouse, and Villas.  In otherwords, think of a golf country club with houses lining the course, except it's a racetrack for members only.  I think it's an amazing concept and perfect club for motorsports enthusiasts.

We arrived in the late morning and was met by security staff outside to check our credentials.  Once we presented our customized badges from Porsche, we drove through the front gates down a long palm tree lined driveway.  I noticed that the Thermal Club is still in development with construction on the surrounding villas.





There were plenty of parking spots available for guests.  We found the Porsche building and entered into the display area for the Porsche 918 Spyder.





At the center display was the Porsche 918 Spyder serial number 000 and it proudly wore the "Liquid Metal Silver" color exterior.  Wheels are 20" front and 21" rear and painted black with a polished front face surface.  There is an optional single-piece forged magnesium wheel that resembles a BBS style (and is standard on the Weissach package).  The weight savings of the magnesium wheels are nearly 33 pounds compared to the standard wheels.  Actually throughout the day I learned that the weight savings theme was apparent for every little detail to improve performance. 
Brakes on the 918 Spyder PCCB Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake system.  Fronts are 410mm and rear are 390mm diameter discs and have the 'Acid Green' colored painted six-piston/four-piston fixed calipers.  The brake discs are near 50% lighter than the standard cast iron discs and contributes to the weight savings theme and saves time on the race track. 

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