It’s the stability. Some cars you get
on a track, and it’s a constant battle to
keep them going the direction you want.
The front end doesn’t grip, or the rear
is always stepping out. It’s wiggly in the
brake zone, or it can’t put the power down
out of a curve. Every corner entry and exit
is an adventure. Not so with these.
The 918’s one gotcha is turn-in over-
steer. I like to trail-brake, staying on the
brake into the corner, which lightens up
the rear end and can induce oversteer.
For some cars, it’s just a little rotation
that helps point you toward the exit of
the corner. The 918, in the 911 tradition,
does more than rotate. I’ve been sideways
entering corners in a 918 where I’ve never
been sideways before or since.
Knowing this, though, I can drive
around it. This 918 prototype, nicknamed
Meredith, isn’t as valuable as the 917, butSPECS 1970 PORSCHE 917 K 2014 PORSCHE 918 SPYDER
BASE PRICE $38,350 (1970, $260,700
in 2020 dollars)$847,975
($965,675 as tested)VEHICLE LAYOUT Mid-engine, RWD,
2-pass, 2-door coupeMid-engine, AWD, 2-pass,
2-door targa
ENGINE 4.9L/600-hp/415-lb-ft
DOHC 24-valve flat-124.6L/608-hp/398-lb-ft DOHC 32-valve
V-8 plus 129-hp/154-lb-ft front and
156-hp/276-lb-ft rear
electric motors, 887 hp comb
TRANSMISSION 5-speed manual 7-speed twin-clutch auto
CURB WEIGHT 1,750 lb (mfr) 3,791 lb (43/57%)
WHEELBASE 90.6 in 107.5 in
L X W X H 162.2 x 78.0 x 37.0 in 182.9 x 76.4 x 45.95 in
0-60 MPH 2.3 sec (MT est) 2.4 sec
FUEL ECONOMY 3 mpg (est, max allowable
race fuel consumption)67 mpg-e (comb, gas + elec); 22 mpg
(comb, gas only)I don’t want to see the insurance claim,
just the same.
Finish your braking before you turn,
and the 918 is a sweetheart. With the
instantaneous response of electric
motors, it leaps off corners in a way that
would’ve taken a lot more throttle (and
risk) in the 917. But foot to the floor, I’m
unsure which one would win a drag race.
They feel equally eye-widening at full tilt.
Oh, for any of the pros standing around
pit lane to do a few timed laps in each ...
Back to the task at hand, there are a
few obvious differences in how the two
cars drive. The 918’s steering is fingertip
light by comparison, far less physically
demanding. The one-piece carbon-fiber
race seat has the opposite problem the
917 had. I’m sitting so upright that the
headrest feels like it’s pushing my helmet
forward slightly, so I have to lean forward
slightly to keep my chin up. At least I’m
not hitting the ceiling, though I did leave
the duct tape in place, just in case.
Not having to think about the shifter
is an enormous mental load lifted. I have
to imagine I’d get used to the 917’s shifter
with enough practice, but then, not even
having to think about shifting lets youfocus so much more brain capacity on
getting your lines, braking points, and
throttle right. Porsche’s PDK transmis-
sion has been perfect for years now, so I
just let it do the shifting because it isn’t
making any gear changes I wouldn’t.
Getting a lap perfect in a manual
transmission car feels like an accomplish-
ment because you’ve managed so many
variables and you’re a little surprised
you didn’t make any mistakes. Getting
a lap perfect with a modern automatic
transmission, however, feels like an
accomplishment because you went faster
by fine-tuning every corner with the
concentration you weren’t applying to
the clutch and shifter.
The 918 has a speedometer, but I’m not
looking at it. It feels like I’m going faster
than I was in the 917, but not by a lot. I’m
so much more focused on my own driving
and not the experience of driving a 917. I
feel like I’m pushing every corner harder,
uninhibited now in this less intimidating,
less dangerous car (to both health and
career). Now it’s laps with a familiar
friend, not a once-in-a-lifetime moment
for which every sensory input must be
cataloged, lest any detail be forgotten.
Just like that, my time in the 918
concludes. Standing between the two cars
in the pit, I marvel at Porsche’s ever-
present attention to the driver in each,
despite the difference in decades.
Today Porsche makes a point of equal-
izing the weight of inputs so that the effort
required to turn the steering wheel, move
the shifter, apply the brakes, and apply the
throttle are as similar as possible. It does
this because racing experience has shown
it’s less tiring for the driver, physically
and mentally. This likely wasn’t corporate
policy in 1969, when the first 917 was built,
but the same intrinsic understanding is
there. Make the car easy to drive, and the
driver can make it go faster.
917 veterans like to say once the car
was sorted they could take a hand off
the steering wheel at 200 mph, it was so
stable. I’ve been 200 mph in a few cars,
and I can tell you that’s not a statement
to be taken lightly. In either of these cars,
though, I’d be willing to give it a shot. I
don’t say that lightly, either, because the
917 has all the crash protection of a dog
crate with a five-point harness. I don’t
mind, because after just a few laps I trust
it as much as I trust the 918.
Porsche isn’t the only manufacturer in
the world to realize making both street
cars and race cars easier to drive makes
their drivers faster, but it’s the only one
to do it so consistently for seven decades
and counting. QHISTORIC DRIVE
Still only three round gauges, but packed
with much, much more information.60 MOTORTREND.COM JUNE 2020