Don't Hold Your Breathe For The Porsche 918 Hypercar Successor

The Taycan EV has been a success story for Porsche and the Macan EV is nearing a full reveal, but it seems that an electrified hypercar to follow in the footsteps of the 918 Spyder is proving to be more of a challenge, with MotorTrend reporting that such a car is at least five to six years away. That would mean it won't arrive before 2028, just two years before Porsche wants 80% of deliveries to be made up of EVs.

Two years ago, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume raised hopes that a 918 successor could arrive in 2025, and he stuck to that timeline in another interview in December 2023. Unfortunately, as per statements made by Blume last year, battery technology still hasn't evolved to a point where it's suitable for use in a new hypercar. In such a car, the demands placed on the battery are higher than in a normal passenger car, and the technology is still in the process of being developed.

"We are in the middle of developing our own [next-gen battery] cell," said Michael Steiner, a member of Porsche's executive board for development and research. "With [our subsidiary] company, Cellforce Group, we have samples [of such batteries] in the same size cells we use for the existing Taycan. So it's not just a research thing, it's real. For sure within the next two years, we will show what could be done with some of these cells in our series-production cars."

If we could see these high-energy-density batteries in series-production cars in two years, why is the possibility of an electrified hypercar still so far off? Quite simply, the batteries need another stage of development for use in a high-performance car of this nature.

"[The battery] has to be developed and pushed further so we have at least an idea that we could have some top-model cars within existing car lines with special cells. And when we are good enough in terms of volumetric energy density - really important for supercars - then there might be a chance to show what could be done on the road with, let me say, close to racing [performance]," said Steiner. "So I have [a car like that] in mind... but we need some additional improvement [on the tech side] from our point of view that makes sense."

Steiner also explained that series development of a hypercar project has yet to begin, further extending the timeline. For Porsche enthusiasts hoping for something to take on the Lotus Evija or Pininfarina Battista, well, they'll have to be patient.

But will the 918's successor even be a full EV? That has yet to be confirmed, although Blume did say previously that the "battery will be the cylinder of tomorrow," a statement which doesn't sound like it leaves room for an internal combustion engine. Another ray of hope exists with eFuels, which Porsche continues to investigate. Whether the technology can be incorporated into a hypercar is another question altogether.

For now, it's best not to get our hopes up about a 918 Spyder successor until Porsche communicates something more concrete, but we'll take some comfort from the fact that the idea hasn't been written off at all.