Ride-alongs, without the opportunity to drive, as Chris Harris notes in this video, are one of the main gripes of the canapés-and-cocktail-shrimp lifestyle of the automotive journalist. It's just kind of lame not to be allowed to drive the car yourself.

It's also a lot less valuable in terms of experience that we then translate to you, the reader, through our impressions. But, in the case of the 918 Spyder, we're willing to make a bit of an exception. Fortunately, so is Chris Harris.

As a result, we get the footage above, Harris riding along with Porsche engineer Holger Bartels, showing the car in action, silent all-electric mode and all. Sadly, there's no track time involved, but we imagine that will come along soon enough.

Our favorite part of the video? The child-like glee evident on Harris' jaded, been-there-done-that face. Must be one hell of a car.