Exclusive manufacturers, like McLaren, Ferrari and Porsche, have masterfully built up the hype around their hybrid supercars, all of which are nudging close to 1,000 hp, some more than others.

The Porsche 918 Spyder is the least powerful and the heaviest of the trio, but since it is a Porsche, you can bet it will be engineered around its shortcomings and prove to be a very good car of this sort.

Jay Leno was one of the first to drive it, and now he’s been fortunate enough to be invited to be the first person outside of McLaren to get behind the wheel of the P1, which promises to be harder, lighter and faster than the Porsche, and its only real comparable rival at the moment is the Ferrari LaFerrari.

Keep in mind that Jay is kind-of plugging the car for McLaren, and this is not really one of those vids where he goes through what everything does, in detail. He does go through all of the different driving modes that the P1 leaves at the driver’s disposal, but aside from that, it’s just hooned about the good old fashioned way.

The circuit chosen for the event is none other than the Top Gear aerodrome-track, at Dunsfold, where the car was reportedly developed. It feels right at home there, with Leno at the wheel, whose face thoroughly feels the high longitudinal G-forces that the car pulls under hard acceleration and braking.

By Andrei Nedelea

VIDEO