The Porsche 918 Spyder deserves the credit for forging the hybrid supercar territory trodden by the likes of Ferrari and McLaren, even if the car's venture to market has been a long one. But that lag time between concept and production has allowed Porsche to attain some pretty spectacular achievements, one of which is the production car lap record for the Nürburgring.

Now, finally, the car is making its way to eager buyers around the globe. That means the first reviews are filtering in, and one of the best comes from British journo Chris Harris. He was invited to drive the car at Spain’s Valencia circuit, and as you may have guessed he's come away extremely impressed with it.

Interestingly, Harris admits to preferring to drive the car with its traction and stability control systems switched on. That’s because Porsche has done a brilliant job on the calibration of the systems, allowing the car to be pushed much closer to its limits.

Just some quick numbers before you hit play. The 918 Spyder has a peak output of 887 horsepower and 940 pound-feet of torque, generated from a 4.6-liter V-8 paired with two electric motors. Equipped with its available Weissach package, which helps lower the car’s weight from 3,715 pounds to 3,616 pounds and also sees an improvement in aerodynamics, the 918 Spyder will accelerate to 60 mph from rest in just 2.5 seconds, pass 124 mph in 7.2 seconds and then 186 mph in 19.9 seconds. Top speed is 216 mph.

Porsche only plans to build 918 examples of the car, each priced from $845,000. Unlike the McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari, you can still buy a 918 Spyder. Judging by this review, you certainly won’t be disappointed parking one in your driveway.

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