Porsche offers 918 Spyder to Australians for $1.5 million
Porsche has announced on Wednesday the availability of its new 918 Spyder Hybrid series, scheduled to roll out from the German carmaker's production line by the last quarter of 2013.
However, affluent Australians wanting to get their hands on the Porsche limited edition, with the company intending to manufacture only 918 units of the left-hand drive super car, could start placing their orders if they do not mind the tag price: a whopping 645,000 Euros or $1.5 million in local currency.
Be reminded that the calculation is hardly a blow out since the total amount factors in the luxury car tax of 210,000 Euros slapped by the Aussie government plus GST and more additional fees that led to the hefty cost of owning the new Porsche version.
Porsche Australia scored the government for labelling the super car as a luxury vehicle despite the fact that it is built only as left-hand as a company spokesman stressed that "it's absurd that the luxury car tax should be applied to a car that cannot be registered for road use in Australia."
Touted as Porsche's most fuel-efficient make ever, the company said that Australians are being denied by their government to own the car.
Designed by Porsche engineers to run as a plug-in hybrid, the two-seater Spyder is projected to burn only three litres of fuel every 100km while its CO2 emission is estimated to reach only 70 grams per kilometre.
Set to primarily run on a race track, the car is fitted with a 368kW V8 engine while two electric-powered motors installed on each axle complement the machine's capability of enough horsepower, with their 160kW combined power output.
Porsche said that new super car has been engineered as an all-wheel-drive vehicle, with its front wheels powered by the electric motors while the rear wheels derive their might from the V8 powerhouse.
Industry experts said that Australian buyers would be forced to shell out four times the value of the super car in Europe, where it is being sold from €173,241 or $244,000 and €184,546 or $259,000 for the coupe and convertible versions respectively.