The Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari LaFerrari, and McLaren P1 all ushered in a new era of hypercars when they made their debuts a few years ago. Since then, Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin have joined in on the fun with their own 1,000-horsepower machines. Even McLaren has said that it’s up for seconds, and after initially teasing that it’s going to do the same, Porsche has now confirmed plans to develop a follow-up to the mighty 918 Spyder. Just don’t expect it to happen anytime soon.
The confirmation (of sorts) came from no less than Porsche CEO Oliver Blume, who said that the benchmark-setting 918 Spyder would in fact get a next-generation model. The only caveat is that the car isn’t expected to arrive for at least another eight years. “Special models like the 918 Spyder normally we launch every 10 years,” Blume said, indicating that the replacement model won’t arrive at least until 2025 and that any discussion of said model likely won’t take place until 2022.
For now, Porsche appears to be content to sit on the sidelines and spectate on the next wave of hypercars that are scheduled to hit the market in the coming years. One of these models, the recently-named Aston Martin Valkyrie, is scheduled to hit public roads in 2018, right around the same time as Mercedes-AMG’s very own hypercar. There’s also been talk within McLaren circles that the British automaker is in the drawing board for a replacement of its own P1 hypercar, although nothing much has amounted to that.
Even Audi has thrown its name into the hat, even though Audi Sport boss Stephan Winkelmann’s comments on the matter simply suggests that an Audi hyper “might be a good idea.” The point being made here is that a lot of automakers have seen what the Porsche 918 Spyder was able to do for Porsche and they’re not going to sit idly by and let others enjoy the spoils.
There’s legitimate competition brewing in this new segment, and as one of the stalwarts, Porsche appears to be opting for a measured approach on the matter. Let everyone get their turn in the spotlight, and when it’s time, the German automaker will come back with a vengeance.
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from Top Speed http://ift.tt/2mZyzch
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