It’s hard to believe 12 years have passed since Porsche revealed the 918 Spyder. At its launch in September 2013 during the Frankfurt Motor Show, the electrified supercar was crowned Zuffenhausen’s quickest-accelerating production model. From naught to 62 mph (100 km/h), it needed only 2.6 seconds. Fast-forward to 2025, and even a much heavier SUV now beats the former flagship to that sprint. Well, sort of.
Porsche orchestrated a drag race between the 918 Spyder and the Cayenne Turbo Electric to show how its heaviest production vehicle ever is a tenth of a second quicker off the line. The 5,831-pound (2,645-kilogram) mastodon needs two and a half seconds to get the job done, matching the latest 911 Turbo S. However, the German representative of the Holy Trinity is still ahead to 124 mph (200 km/h), doing it in 7.3 seconds, or one-tenth quicker than the combustion-free Cayenne.
The promo video, featuring Mark Webber and Formula E development driver Gabriela Jílková, shows the duel between two wildly different cars conveniently ending in a tie. What’s the point? It’s a marketing effort meant to highlight the obvious benefits of an electric motor’s virtually instant response, even when the vehicle is a porker. But in any other performance metric, the 918 Spyder runs circles around the Cayenne Turbo Electric.
If we’re talking strictly about 0–62 mph (100 km/h) performance, the electric Cayenne still isn’t Porsche’s quickest. That title belongs to the Taycan Turbo GT with the Weissach Package, which does the sprint in 2.2 seconds. The less hardcore Taycan Turbo S is also quicker than the luxobarge at 2.4 seconds. The Cayenne Turbo Electric does have a feather in its cap: the most powerful Porsche ever, with a ludicrous 1,139 hp.
The only Porsche that could improve on these numbers is the Mission X. However, the company has yet to commit to building a production version of the electric hypercar concept introduced in 2023. Given how electric performance vehicles haven’t taken off in terms of popularity as Porsche would have hoped, the firm’s reluctance to green-light the project makes sense.
Porsche’s renewed affection for combustion engines suggests the Mission X won’t hit the streets anytime soon. Should a 918 Spyder successor arrive as a pure EV, the targets are already set: the fastest road car at the Nürburgring, a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio, and more downforce than the 911 GT3 RS.
Source: Porsche
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