918 Spyder hybrid sports car will be cheap to run but not cheap to buy.
Porsche has opened the order books for its most fuel-efficient car - and it will cost Australians at least $1.5 million.
The German car maker has put a European price tag of 645,000 Euros on its new 918 Spyder that won't go into production until late 2013.
Porsche will build only 918 units of the Spyder, which will be constructed around an expensive but lightweight carbonfibre-reinforced plastic monocoque but will be left-hand drive only.
Porsche Australia says wealthy customers here can still order the 918 Spyder for use on a race track, though it has criticised the government for still applying the luxury car tax to a car that cannot be registered for the road locally.
"We have genuinely interested buyers [for the 918], even though they know it's left-hand-drive only," says company spokesman Paul Ellis. "It's absurd that the luxury car tax should be applied to a car that cannot be registered for road use in Australia."
The luxury car tax adds 210,000 Euros to the price, and with GST and other charges means the 918 Spyder is a $1.5 million proposition for buyers.
Porsche says Australians are being denied the company's most fuel efficient model yet, which is expected to use less than half the fuel of the average small car.
The two-seater 918, which will stay faithful to the 2010 concept car of the same name, is a plug-in hybrid estimated to use just three litres of fuel per 100km, with CO2 emissions of 70 grams per km.
It teams a 368kW mid-mounted V8 with two electric motors - one on each axle - that will produce a minimum combined output of 160kW.
The front electric motor effectively makes the 918 an all-wheel-drive car, with the V8's power sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch auto.
The 918's lithium-ion battery will provide a 25km driving range in pure electric mode, with a top speed of 150km/h. Porsche says the battery can be charged from a conventional power socket in up to three hours.
Porsche's 918 concept didn't feature a roof but the production version will include roof panels that can be removed by hand and stowed in the car's front luggage compartment.
Customers ordering a 918 will also be given the option to purchase a limited edition 911 Turbo to ease their minimum two-and-a-half-year wait for the supercar.
Both the 911 Turbo S 'Edition 918 Spyder' coupe and convertible feature different leather seats, instrument dials, extra carbonfibre touches and decals to regular Turbo S models.
In Europe, the 'Edition 918 Spyder' 911 coupe and convertible cost €173,241 ($244,000) and €184,546 ($259,000) respectively
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