Porsche Built One 918 Coupe. Now It's Coming to Salon Privé
By Hugo Mattson September 2, 2026
The Porsche 918 Coupe is a one-off fixed-roof version of the 918 Spyder originally commissioned for Ferdinand Piëch.
Unlike the 918 Spyder's removable two-piece roof, Piëch's car has a fixed single-piece roof and several other unique details.
The one-off Porsche will appear at Salon Privé 2026 at Blenheim Palace in the UK.
There are 918 examples of the Porsche 918 Spyder.
And then there is this one.
The dark blue and orange car heading to Salon Privé this week is believed to be the only Porsche 918 Coupe in existence, a one-off created for former Volkswagen Group chairman Ferdinand Piëch.
It is an interesting car today. The story becomes even better when you realise people were trying to figure out exactly what it was more than a decade ago.
Piëch's unusual 918 was photographed on the road in Austria in 2015, shortly after production of the 918 Spyder had ended. Even then, the fixed roof was attracting attention.
Because a 918 without a removable roof creates an obvious problem. It isn't really a Spyder anymore.
The 918 that lost its Spyder roof
A normal Porsche 918 Spyder has two removable roof panels that can be stored in the front luggage compartment.
Piëch apparently decided he didn't need them.
His car instead received a fixed single-piece roof, effectively turning Porsche's open-top hybrid hypercar into a coupe.
That might sound like a relatively small modification, but the removable roof is one of the defining features of the standard 918. Porsche even describes open-air driving as part of the experience, allowing occupants to hear the contrast between electric running and the 4.6-litre V8 sitting behind them. The one-off goes in the opposite direction.
And Porsche apparently wasn't finished with the roof.
The car has been associated with Piëch since it first appeared publicly in 2015, when it was photographed wearing the Austrian registration S-FKP-417. The letters FKP corresponded with Ferdinand Karl Piëch, while another of his rather special cars, a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, was known to wear a similar registration.
The similarities between the two cars didn't stop at their number plates.
Piëch apparently liked blue and orange
The 918 Coupe wears a striking dark blue and orange colour scheme.
Contemporary reports from 2015 noted that it closely resembled the colours used on Piëch's Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, suggesting he had effectively created a matching pair of hypercars.
For its Salon Privé appearance, the Porsche is described as being finished in Oxford Blue with Arancio, while the cabin combines Tangerine and Imperial Blue.
Subtle it isn't.
The fixed roof isn't the only unusual exterior detail either. Early photographs and reports also pointed to a fixed rear wing, further separating the car from a regular 918 Spyder.
Yet perhaps the funniest detail is inside.
Despite Porsche going to the trouble of turning the car into what is effectively a 918 Coupe, the headrests still carry 918 Spyder embroidery.
Apparently nobody told the seats.
Underneath, it's still a 918
The unusual roof doesn't change what made the 918 one of the defining hypercars of its generation.
Porsche combined a naturally aspirated 4.6-litre V8 with two electric motors to produce 887 PS (875 hp), with power going to all four wheels.
That was extraordinary when the production car arrived in 2013.
So was its Nürburgring lap.
With Marc Lieb behind the wheel, the 918 completed the Nordschleife in 6 minutes 57 seconds, becoming the first road-homologated production car to break the seven-minute barrier there.
Together with the McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari, it would become part of what enthusiasts now call the hybrid hypercar “Holy Trinity”.
More than a decade later, those cars have moved firmly into collector territory.
Piëch's car was unusual before that happened.
Ferdinand Piëch wasn't a typical Porsche customer
The identity of the original owner makes the car even more interesting.
Ferdinand Piëch wasn't simply a wealthy customer asking Porsche to modify a 918.
He was the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche and one of the most influential figures in the history of the Volkswagen Group.
An engineer by training, Piëch's career included involvement with cars ranging from Porsche's 917 racing programme to the Audi quattro, before he eventually became chairman of Volkswagen.
His taste for ambitious engineering also helped produce cars such as the Bugatti Veyron and Volkswagen Phaeton.
So the idea of Piëch looking at one of the most technically ambitious Porsches ever made and asking for something different feels strangely appropriate.
Even when Porsche was building only 918 examples, apparently a normal 918 wasn't quite enough.
More than a decade later, the 918 Coupe returns
The one-off will now appear at Salon Privé 2026, held at Blenheim Palace in the UK.
Its appearance comes at an interesting time for the 918 itself.
What was once Porsche's technological flagship has become a serious modern collectible, while concours events are increasingly making room for the supercars and hypercars of the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
Salon Privé is doing exactly that in 2026, introducing new categories dedicated to modern limited-production supercars and hypercars.
And among cars already built in tiny numbers, Piëch's Porsche occupies an unusual position.
Porsche made 918 examples of the 918 Spyder.
As far as anyone knows, it made just one that wasn't really a Spyder at all.