Porsche launches costliest model

Berlin: Porsche may price the 918 Spyder, which soars to 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds, at 500,000 euros ($630,000), topping the Carrera GT as its costliest model, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plan.

At least 2,000 individuals have put in non-binding expressions of interest for the supercar, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. The 918 Spyder is one of three hybrid models Porsche presented at the Geneva auto show in March.

Demand for luxury cars is returning as Wall Street firms add jobs for the first time in two years and offer guaranteed payouts to attract top bankers. While Porsche hasn't decided whether and when it will begin production of the model, at that price the 918 Spyder would top the 453,000-euro Carrera GT. Fewer than 1,500 of that model were built between 2003 and 2006.

"The Spyder will become Porsche's new supercar showpiece project," said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany. "It unites Porsche's high-performance engineering with intelligent drive technology."

Porsche, which is merging with Volkswagen AG, needs at least 1,000 sales pledges to approve limited production of the car, development chief Wolfgang Duerheimer said in an April 24 interview. If only half of those who signed up eventually bought the car, Porsche stands to reap 500 million euros in revenue.

A Porsche spokesman declined to comment on the potential price tag and said a decision on production of the model will be made later this year.

The two-seater car accelerates to a top speed of 320 km/h, relying on a 500-horsepower V8 engine and electric drive-systems allowing the vehicle to run up to 25 kilometres on electric power.

The 918 Spyder emits no more than 70 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre on fuel consumption of three litres per 100 kilometres, according to Porsche's website.

Frank Biller, an analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart, where Porsche is based, said the 918 Spyder may enhance the carmaker's environmental credentials and potentially help attract customers to the brand which he says builds "Europe's worst gas guzzlers".

Lamborghini SpA, another luxury brand owned by Volkswagen, introduced its Reventon Roadster supercar at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September.

At 1.1 million euros, the Reventon is the priciest model Lamborghini has ever made.

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