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Porsche Confirms Production of 918 Spyder Electric Supercar, Plans Panamera S Hybrid for 2011

Porsche released some very exciting news today. It’s official – that super sexy, super efficient electric supercar that we first drooled over earlier this year, the Porsche 918 Spyder, will be put into limited production! We first told you about the 918 Spyder Hybrid back in March. It started out as just a concept car, but then interest in the engineering marvel accelerated almost as fast as the car itself (which, by the way, is 0 from 60 mph in 3.2 seconds).

The 918 Spyder gets an astounding 94 miles per gallon and has four different driving modes ranging from all electric, called E-Drive, to the performance tuned Race Hybrid mode. It’s 3.4 liter mid-mounted V8 engine produces 500 horsepower while 2 other electric motors give it an extra 218 horsepower.

While Porsche has yet to say how many of the dream machine will bill produced, it’s likely that the number will be about the same as the Carrera GT – somewhere around 1,500. The 918 Spyder will also be Porsche’s most expensive car, set to carry a price tag of $630,000.

The news of the 918 Spyder wasn’t the only big announcement by Porsche today. Buried under the excitement about the supercar we learned that Porsche also has confirmed that they will launch a Panamera S Hybrid in 2011. It will share the same hybrid parts as the Cayenne S Hybrid. It will be powered by a 329 horsepower 3 liter V6 engine along with a 46 hp electric motor. It will also be able to drive at low speeds on electric power alone.

It’s really remarkable that Porsche is becoming a leader in fuel efficient vehicles, all while keeping their image as a performance-first manufacturer.