I enjoyed so many things about the following video, which shows how a Porsche 918 Spyder is built in the automaker’s factory in Zuffenhausen, Germany.
For instance, I liked seeing all of the human effort that goes into the construction of the hybrid e-hybrid supercar’s 4.6-liter V8 engine. I nerded out over all of the specialized tools that Porsche’s high-tech artisans use to put one of these LaFerrari fighters together. There was even an attractive woman performing leather work.
However, one part left me underwhelmed.
At the end of the clip, I saw an employee get behind the wheel of a finished 918. I expected to hear the bark of the P-car’s V8 as it fired up to power the exotic for the trip to its next stop in the assembly plant. Instead, I only (barely) heard the near-silence of electric propulsion. It was a little anticlimactic, but after so much car porn, I can’t really complain.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
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