Fans of electrical high performance will salivate over this new video from Motor Trend’s Wide Open Throttle, which gives us sneak peeks at two screamingly speedy prototype PHEVs from Porsche and BMW.
Apparently, Motor Trend believes their audience is behind the times, for narrator Paul Horrell feels compelled to tell us that Porsche’s 918 Spyder is “not a tree-hugging hybrid, [but] a performance hybrid.” Few of today’s 4.5 million hybrid drivers have time for hugging trees on their daily commute, Paul, but many do love a high-performance automobile.
With a 4.6-liter, 570-hp V8, and twin electric motors that give it 770 total horsepower, Porsche’s powerful plug-in is expected to do “well over 200,” and to reach 60 mph in under three seconds. For now, it still has a few wires sticking out as it rockets around Italy’s Nardo test track.
Next stop is Florida, where Motor Trend’s Nate Martinez shows us BMW’s i8 Spyder concept. This open-top two-seater looks polished and ready for the showroom, although production is at least a couple of years away. It sports a 1.5-liter, three-cylinder turbo in the rear and a 129-hp electric motor in front.
image: Porsche