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Canadian Porsche 918 Spyder Plug-in Hybrid Up in Flames at Gas Station




Porsche's top of the line 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid supercar is among one of the most exotic vehicles built at the time. At a Caledon, Ontario Esso gas station this past Sunday night, one of two of those supercars in Canada became a subject for a tales of, "When Bad Things Happen to Good Cars". An over $900,000 supercar combining a 608-horsepower 4.6-liter V-8 engine with 285-horsepower worth of electric power, the Porsche 918 Spyder can run up to 214 miles per hour but could not outrun a tragic end.  

During what was suppose to be a routine fuel filling (something that should have been a little less frequent because of the 918 Spyder's plug-in hybrid drive system), accomplished Canadian investor and member of CBC's upcoming 2014/2015 season of Dragons' Den Michael Wekerie experienced a scary situation. By Wekerie's account, gasoline overfilled and spilled over the side of the vehicle. Wekerie attempted to clean up the fuel spill off the bodywork. Despite efforts, fuel had cascaded down the Porsche 918 Spyder side panels and tickled into the mid-mounted engine causing an immediate fire.

Extensively shaped by Carbon fiber body panels, the supercar plays host to one of the most extravagant uses of plug-in hybrid technology. Unfortunately, much of that performance engineering was burnt up on the vehicle. The fire quickly ignited the rear portion of Wekerie's Porsche 918 Spyder causing a major fire. After the fire was extinguished, what remained was a half-charred Porsche 918 Spyder supercar that Michael Wekerie explained was totalled. Pleasant news in the aftermath of the incident was Michael Wekerie and all others at the station escaped injuries. While the Esso sustained some damage to the fire, an astute station attendant following procedure shut down all the pumps the instant the fire occurred.

Wekerie owned his Porsche 918 Spyder for less than a month prior to the fire that led to its nearly million-dollar demise.


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