Road Test: Porsche 911 GT3 RS 2dr

Sorry, but the Turbo, in its latest incarnation, has become a little tacky. The GT3 RS is anything but. And it's rear-wheel drive, like a proper Porsche 911 should be.

When the tacho needle passes beyond 4,100rpm, a valve opens in the exhaust and the roar becomes a deep, howling bellow. The revving continues with furious determination to the cut-out at 8,500.

Grab the next gear and it happens again, and again. I was approaching 250kmh in a blink, and the top speed of 310kmh (192mph) is only a few seconds and a clear, derestricted road away.

Braking performance - with the optional ceramic brakes as fitted here, a £5,800 option - is unbelievable. After a hard workout downhill, with about 15 full-force stops, there was no hint of fade. You can push with utter confidence, smug in the knowledge that you can wash off whatever speed you build in very short order.

The RS's substantial rear wing and slightly extended front splitter give a small level of positive downforce at high speed. We couldn't measure the effect of this, but you can be sure it's effective.

The key word is agility. This little car - and it is little, no wider than an ordinary hatch - is nimble, responsive and itching to be driven fast. You can do whatever you like and it won't bite - certainly not on the road corners we were tackling. Do something stupid on the track and it might be a different story.

There is plenty of power to break the rear end away in the dry in second gear (and probably third), and a violent lift tightens the line. No antics.

Two buttons on the centre console help. One is labelled 'Sport', the other features a drawing of a damper. Sport sharpens throttle response, gives the traction control more slip angle, and opens a flap to divert exhaust gases around a pre-silencer, giving you that otherworldly howl as a permanent feature, rather than only above four thousand revs.

The damper switch sets Porsche's active suspension system management to rock-hard, from very hard. There's still a magical level of compliance even on this track setting. You get the impression that many thousands of hours of engineering experience have been poured into the suspension setup alone.

And that's the real strength of this car - the depth of engineering prowess you feel in every movement.

Ferrari might get close, and Aston will probably get even closer in time (given its new direction), but Porsche has been there for many long years, testing, honing, testing and improving.

A driver of my limited ability will marvel at the car's grip and astonishingly direct turn-in, the steering that lightens up at speed and feeds you every bit of information you need, but I will never get near the limit. Truly talented drivers will have even more fun.

The engine's out the back, but it doesn't matter. The car is as close to perfect as a car can be, and it's aiming for a very high target.

Porsche rules.