Innovative 'rocket boost' takes Porsche 918 RSR to 756bhp

by Steven Mostyn - Jan 11 2011, 09:34

There are supercars and there are supercars. But when it comes to the 918 RSR, performance car manufacturer Porsche has created a genuine ‘supercar!’ to help tempt the suitably affluent (note our bold use of a defining exclamation point).

Unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show, the gorgeous 918 RSR certainly looks the part thanks to the sleek lines synonymous with Porsche’s iconic design. However, it’s the growling technology powering the sexy German beast that’s raising attendee eyebrows.

More pointedly, Porsche’s latest offering comes equipped with an innovative ‘flywheel accumulator’ (pictured below) that’s situating in the cabin where the passenger seat would normally be.

For want of a better description, the accumulator serves as something of a rocket booster, spinning to an RPM of 36,000 as it unleashes a huge injection of power gathered from electric generators connected to the car’s front wheels.

The power stored within the accumulator—which wouldn’t look out of place in a DeLorean driven by Marty McFly—can be accessed with a simple button press, adding instant extra oomph to the 555bhp already produced by the 918 RSR’s 3.4-litre V8 engine.

According to Porsche, the accumulator boost brings the car’s total performance value up to an utterly bowel-loosening 756bhp.

Although the new technology is unlikely to filter down to mass-produced vehicles any time soon, Porsche is hopeful that its flywheel accumulator could be integrated into its Le Man 24-hour cars within a couple of years.

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