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Porsche’s Bernhard Maier Talks 918 Spyder Sales, Validation Of Hybrid Tech

In a recent press release, Porsche’s Bernhard Maier answered questions about the sales success and impending production end of the Porsche 918 Spyder, and hinted at the possibility of similar performance-oriented hybrid tech trickling down into the marque’s other sportscar offerings.

The highest demand for the 918 Spyder has come from the United States – a trend that is typical for most of the marque’s offerings. Unfortunately, despite the supercar’s sales success, Maier has confirmed that the 918 unit production run will indeed cease around the middle of next year.

In fact, says Porsche’s Bernhard Maier, very few of the full run aren’t already sold, and the number of additional prospective buyers outnumbers the quantity of 918s left to be built. In other words, Porsche will likely not be able to provide a 918 Spyder to every interested party.

This is sobering news, to be sure, but with a silver lining: when asked about hybrid technology similar to that used to attain the 918’s impossibly high performance envelopes making its way down into the 911 and Boxster/Cayman, Maier’s response was affirmative.

Well, mostly. “The plug-in hybrid is the correct answer to future challenges. However, we will make individual decisions about each model range at the appropriate time,” says the executive. Porsche’s Bernhard Maier also implicitly supported presumptions regarding the potentiality of a hybrid 911/Boxster/Cayman by citing the technology’s widespread positive reception where it is currently offered.

“Interest is increasing constantly, which we attribute in particular to the customers’ experiences with this technology and its spread. Porsche is, as you know, the first manufacturer in the world to offer three different models with plug-in hybrid technology… Our 918 Spyder customers are experiencing the future of the sports car today.”

“The future,” you say? If that means increasing the performance envelopes of every Porsche model with a similar hybrid-drive powertrain, we’ll hold you to it.

Aaron Birch is an automotive enthusiast and writer/filmmaker from Detroit, MI. As a rule, he only buys cars older than himself.

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