Porsche 918 Will Be Faster Than P1, LaFerrari: Report

UPDATE: New official details have come to light. Article updated.

It's heavier and less powerful, but Porsche product boss James Eastwood reckons the company's new 918 Spyder halo car will be faster than LaFerrari and the Mclaren P1.

So far, Porsche has confirmed that its hybrid hypercar will produce a combined total of around 660kW - a touch short of the P1's 673kW and LaFerrari's 708kW.

Speaking with Car & Driver magazine this week, Eastwood also said that the 918 will weight around 1700kg, "with fuel and fluids on board" - again bettered by LaFerrari at 1255kg and the P1 at 1405kg, although both are 'dry' weights.

Still, none of these factors will stop the 918 from getting around a course faster than either of its key rivals, Eastwood reckons, thanks to the technologies at the Spyder's disposal.

"In rear-drive cars like our competitors, you still have to do all your braking in a straight line, compromising corner-entry speed," Eastwood told the magazine, touting the advantage of the 918's all-wheel traction.

"Thanks to the 918’s torque-vectoring and independently-driven front wheels, we can maintain better drive and achieve far higher entry and mid-corner speed.”

But, if weight is a concern, Porsche will also offer a lightweight Weissach package that will cut close to 50kg from the Spyder, and Eastwood says around 50 percent of customers have chosen this option.

Porsche promises a 0-100km/h time of 2.8 seconds, putting it easily in the same ballpark as the P1 and LaFerrari - both promising sprint times of "less than 3.0 seconds". 

The carmaker reckons its new hero will lap the Nurburgring faster than its earlier 7m14s time, although no new figures have been offered. 

But, if true, we may see the 918 break through that seven-minute barrier. 

Earlier this year, Porsche confirmed €645,000/US$845,000 (approx. AU$791,000) starting prices for the 918 Spyder, significantly undercutting the £866,000 (AU$1.25 million) P1, while LaFerrari’s unconfirmed price is expected to be more than $1.3 million.