Porsche began work on the 918 Spyder last Augus

Porsche 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid concept is the fact that Porsche managed to keep the car under wraps until its world debut last week at the Geneva Auto Show.

“Frankly, we were pleased that we were able to keep it quiet, and a lot went into that,” said Dave Engelman, a Porsche spokesman.

Mr. Engelman said that his boss, Bernd Harling, publicity chief for Porsche in the United States, had to sign a nondisclosure waiver before seeing the 918.

The hybrid’s privacy was also protected by its very short development time. The concept car had only been gestating since last August. According to Porsche, Wolfgang Dürheimer, vice president of research and development, and Michael Macht, president of Porsche AG and chief executive of the executive board of management, were “discussing what could be done in the wake of the very recent VW/Porsche merger to help Porsche remain Porsche. The 918 Spyder is what they came up with.”