The Porsche 918 Spyder is an incredible supercar, which makes it easy to forget that it's also a plug-in hybrid. The former aspect of the 918's personality is demonstrated by a POV video released by Porsche of factory driver Patrick Long putting this superlative car through its paces at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin Texas.

When driven a bit less ferociously, though, the 918 can also do a decent impression of an economy car. Its EPA fuel-economy ratings were just released, and they're pretty impressive for a car sporting a 4.6-liter V-8 and a total system output of 887 horsepower and 940 pound-feet of torque.

The 918 is rated at 67 MPGe combined in hybrid mode, and a still-respectable 22 mpg when driving on gasoline power only. It also has an electric-only range of 12 miles which--as Motor Trend points out--is one mile more than a Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid.

Porsche's finest also beats the Prius Plug-In in overall range. The Toyota can travel 1,007 miles on both gasoline and electricity, but the 918 can go 1,239. While gearheads will be tickled by the idea of a Porsche supercar beating a Prius at something, it's actually not much of an achievement. The Prius Plug-In has the shortest electric-only range of any plug-in hybrid currently sold worldwide, and the 918's greater overall range is due to a larger fuel tank.

Drivers willing to shorten that range a bit can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in seven seconds, and reach a top speed of 93 mph on battery power alone. Throw the V-8 into the mix, and the 918 will reach 60 mph in just under 2.8 seconds, 124 mph in 7.9 seconds, and 186 mph in 23 seconds.

Porsche, a brand with a reputation for building luxury sports cars for those who truly love the experience of driving, is turning up the electricity.

The high-end German brand is about to start deliveries of its limited-edition 918 Spyder, a plug-in electric hybrid that allows Porsche fans to drive a sports car in five modes—ranging from all-electric to "hot lap," where a 4.6-liter V8 engine provides 608 of the car's maximum 887 horsepower.

"Hot Lap mode is what is really amazing," said Joe Lawrence, chief operating officer of Porsche North America. "We set the all-time record lap time at Germany's famous Nurburgring race track of 6 minutes and 57 seconds."

The 918 Spyder prototype combines high-tech racing features and electro-mobility to offer a fascinating range of qualities: An emission level of just 70 grams CO2 per kilometre on fuel consumption of three litres/100 kilometres (equal to 94 mpg imp) truly outstanding even for an ultra-compact city car, on the one hand, combined with the performance of a super sports car and acceleration from a standstill to 100 km/h in just under 3.2 seconds, top speed of 320 km/h (198 mph) plus, and a lap time on the Nordschleife of Nürburgring in less than 7:30 minutes, faster than even the Porsche Carrera GT, on the other.