Hybrid Porsche $650,000 Spyder Supercar Given Green Light

The supervisory board of Porsche AG has given production of the 918 Spyder hybrid sports car the green light. The Spyder races to 100 kilometers per hour in an astonishing 3.2 seconds and could usurp the Carrera GT as the automaker’s costliest offering.

Porsche intends to develop the supercar at a research facility close to Stuttgart, Germany, where the automaker is headquartered, Porsche announced today. The vehicle will be manufactured at the main factory in Zuffenhausen.

The 918 Spyder, one of three hybrid vehicles Porsche debuted in March at the Geneva Motor Show, has received at least 2,000 submissions of interest that are not binding, according to sources familiar with the matter. To begin building the supercar, Porsche will need a minimum of 1,000 sales pledges, according to development chief Wolfgang Duerheimer.

The sports car may cost around 500,000 euros, or $650,000, exceeding the Carrera GT’s price tag of 453,000 euros. Only 1,500 units of the Carrera GT were produced. The Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid may debut as soon as 2013, says Tim Schuldt, an Equinet AG analyst in Frankfurt.

Seating two, the vehicle can reach a top speed of 320 kilometers per hour, or 199 mph, with its 500-horsepower V8 engine and electric-drive systems that enable the supercar to travel up to 25 kilometers solely on electric power.

Last week, Porsche concurred with worker representations on strategies to protect jobs and boost productivity through 2015. The agreement includes a promise to build the Porsche 918 Spyder if the vehicle attracts sufficient interest, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Porsche intends to introduce new models to reach its goal of doubling yearly sales to as many as 150,000 cars in the medium term and take advantage of savings achieved from a future merger with Volkswagen AG.