It's not that seeing a halo supercar gets any less exciting when you most expect it — namely at an auto show or cars and coffee event. It's just that seeing a halo supercar gets that much better when you happen upon one unexpectedly.
Granted, I wouldn't exactly admit to being entirely surprised. I was in Porsche birthplace city of Stuttgart at the time, and of everywhere in Stuttgart, I was at the Porsche Museum where Porsche proudly displays some of their finest throughout its spectacular history. You may wonder then how this was unexpected at all.
The difference here was I wasn't inside the museum at the time.
No, the museum was closed for the day and we had to adjourn visitation. My friends and I walked back and looked for our rental car in the parking garage. We were to lucky to have gotten off on the wrong floor. What's that over there? Of course, even at several paces away I instantly saw it was the new 918 Spyder.
This however wasn't "just" a 918 Spyder. It was equipped with the Weissach Package which endows it with a host of add-lightness and reduce-drag goodies. In particular, this is the 918 that achieved a sub-7 minute Nurburgring lap time. And if you ask me, prospective 918 Spyder owners, this is the one you want.
Made even timelier was the fact that this 918 wasn't just sitting around parked and waiting for its Porsche executive to return. It was putting on its best appearance for a photoshoot.
I approached the photographer and braved the response I was going to get for asking, "Mind if I snap a few shots?"
"Of course." He answered without hesitation and at the same time revealed a fairly American accent.
Mind you that even with my DSLR he likely had no qualms about me and my camera stealing an opportunity as he was equipped with a small crew, lighting and what looked to be a medium-format camera. As those familiar with commercial automotive photography may know, the actual location of the subject car frequently tends not to be the edited and finalized location that appears in the photo. Signs point to it being a commercial shoot for Porsche.
Regardless, shooting a car already set up to be photographed by someone else was just too opportune to not get excited over.
Porsche's own website and press photos for the Weissach Package 918 features a pretty much identical looking car. I can't be positive that this car is the same car fronting all the official press images that Porsche is showcasing, but a large part of me sure would love to think so.
