It looks like Porsche has outdone itself once again.  Actually, it looks Porsche has outdone a lot of people this time with their new concept car, the Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid plug-in car.  As a performance machine, it’s awesome!  As a Green performance machine, it’s unbelievable.

Porsche says the 918 Spyder will get 78 miles per gallon.  That in itself is outstanding, but throw in the fact that it will take you from 0 to 62 miles-per-hour (100 km/h) in 3.2 seconds and it’s just about unbelievable.  Unbelievable until you look at it, then it’s not only believable, but it becomes the stuff dreams are made of.  At least my dreams…I love this car!  This is just a pain beautiful piece of work, and it sounds like there’s a very, very, very good chance it will become more than just a concept.

Porsche accomplished the almost unheard of task of keeping this a secret until its unveiling last week at the Geneva Auto show, where it was an instant hit.  Some thinks that make it so impressive, especially for a Green car?  The 918 is powered by a 500-horsepower gasoline V-8 along with electric motors on the front and rear axle.  The two electric motors combine to make 160 kilowatts of power, which is the equivalent of 218 horsepower. Total power output is 718 horsepower.

All of this delivers a top speed of 198 mph, 0 to 62 mph in 3.2 second, and 78 mpg.  But there’s a catch.  You don’t get all of these at once.  There’s no way you’ll get 78 mpg if you’re driving around town at 198 mph (but then again, that’s probably the least of your concerns if that’s your driving style).

The Porsche 918 Spyder has four different drive modes, E-drive, Hybrid, Sport Hybrid, and Race Hybrid, all of which are explained further here on Porsche’s press release.

I’m sure we haven’t heard the last from Porsche on the 918 Spyder.