Not wanting to be outdone by rivals Ferrari and McLaren, Porsche recently allowed a few select media some time behind the wheel of a production-spec 918 Spyder and announced some revised specs for the upcoming supercar.

The big news is that the car’s total output (from the engine and electric drive system) has been increased from a previously quoted 795 horsepower to a new peak of 887 horsepower.

That's still shy of the P1's 903 horsepower and the LaFerrari's 950 horsepower, but at these stratospheric figures, it's as much about how it's delivered to the road as the absolute number. And here the Porsche has the advantage of having the added traction of a through-the-road all-wheel-drive system.

Peak torque, meanwhile, is a staggering 940 pound-feet.

The end result, according to Porsche, is a 0-62 mph time of 2.8 seconds, a 0-125 mph time of 7.9 seconds, a 0-188 mph time of 23 seconds, and a top speed in excess of 213 mph.

As for the Nürburgring lap time, the official figure is now below the previously quoted time of 7:14, with some suggesting that it could even be below the 7 minute barrier.

You’re probably wondering how a car with a curb weight of roughly 3,615 pounds can be so quick. The key is its sophisticated plug-in hybrid drivetrain, which pairs a 4.6-liter V-8 born in motorsport to a pair of electric motors.

The engine is now claimed to deliver 608 horsepower on its own, and is matched to a 156-horsepower electric motor and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. This combination is used to drive the rear wheels only, while a second electric motor, rated at 129 horsepower, powers the front wheels.

Other goodies include four-wheel steering, shift times as low as 50 milliseconds in the car’s most extreme “Race” setting, and an electric-only range of about 20 miles on a single charge of its 6.8kWh lithium-ion battery. Fuel economy is said to be 85.6 mpg for the European combined cycle, though this doesn’t take into account the electrical energy initially used to charge the battery. In reality, fuel economy will vary between 25 and 35 mpg, which is still impressive given the car’s performance.

Production of the 918 Spyder will commence in September 2013, with the first cars due in customer hands by the end of the year and only 918 examples planned in total. The order books opened in March 2012, with the pricetag set at $845,000.

For more on the Porsche 918 Spyder, including initial driving impressions, head over to Automobile for their first drive report.

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