Simply Abu Dhabi XI

2 6 0 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I What’s even more remarkable about the Spyder is the way the combustion engine and electric motor work together. Obviously this isn’t exactly a new concept. We’ve all seen a Prius cruising almost silently down the highway. However, there’s nothing to compare between the way these two cars perform. While you could certainly carry out a planet-friendly trip to the shopping mall in your Spyder, just like that Prius owner, I seriously doubt that you’d want to. In the 918, a clutch between the V-8 and 154-hp electric motor provides stop-start operation to eliminate fuel consumption in everyday operating modes, much like that Prius. Here though, is where any similarity ends. With the Spyder it’s all about power and speed, the electric motor kicking in to provide stomach-wrenching torque at the low end of the rev range, meaning that the engineering wizards at Porsche were free to get the very most power from that incredibly high-revving combustion engine, (it red- lines and hits the fuel cut off at 9150 rpm, that glorious engine wailing like a banshee all the way there). As you’d imagine, the technical wizardry doesn’t end there. Keeping things moving along there are three clutches and seven forward gears but not a clutch pedal or gear stick in sight. In order to achieve the ultimate balance between speed and fuel efficiency, technology has moved way beyond conventional manual transmission. Today’s dual-clutch seven-speed system provides a 37-percent-greater ratio spread, no interruption of power delivery during upshifts and faultless operation, even for a driver of my limited skills. In simple terms, the dual-clutch set-up is quicker and more fuel-efficient than anything that’s gone before. So in the cockpit, instead of an old- fashioned gear stick, the driver gets shift paddles and a toggle on the dash, (park, neutral, drive, reverse), that wouldn’t look too out of place in the Prius that I can’t seem to get away from. In fact, now we’re in the cockpit, shall we discuss that for a while? Much as I love all the mechanical genius this car displays, it’s here in the hot seat, holding on to the racing steering wheel that the Sypder comes alive. Surprisingly, for a car that sits so low to the ground, the driving position is fairly upright, with the thin screen pillars set well back to provide pretty good forward and lateral vision. Added to this, the curves of the front wings

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