Driven - Porsche 911 Carrera T driven: the one you want

Price as tested: £128,296 | On sale: now

At first glance, the Porsche 911 configurator can appear baffling. There are multiple bodystyles, model designations like 'S' and 'GTS' thrown around with abandon and usually at least one special edition for good measure. 

At the current count, there are 19 to pick from. The GT3 and GT3 RS are perhaps the most desirable of the lot, but demand usually outstrips supply, so you can't simply rock up to your Porsche dealer and buy one. And in any case, they're very driver focused.

The Turbo models, meanwhile, are savagely fast, but almost a bit too quick for their own good. So if you're ignoring those and looking at the rest of the range, which is your best bet? There's a strong case for it being the Porsche 911 Carrera T. 

The original Carrera T was viewed with a hefty dose of scepticism when it was announced, looking like a cynical way to make an extra derivative by combining existing options with some tokenistic lightweighting and a name inspired by a long-dead version of the 911.

It worked beautifully, though. It was only a run-out special for the 991-generation 911, but Porsche saw fit to bring it back for the 992 generation as a permanent part of the range. And now it's here in 992.2 facelifted form. At around £115,000, it sits between the base Carrera and the S in the range but you can easily spend a lot more than that with options.

The core recipe is much the same. It combines the base Carrera version of Porsche's 3.0-litre, twin-turbo six-cylinder engine, which has always been more than powerful enough, with a manual gearbox (this time a six-speed unit, not a seven).

The chassis features a 10mm lower ride height than other Carrera models and Porsche has removed some of the soundproofing, both to reduce weight and allow drivers to enjoy the noise of the engine a bit more. 

For the 992.2 version, Porsche has actually removed even more weight – a total of 42kg, up from 35kg. Along with the reduction in sound deadening, there's thinner glass at the rear, lightweight bucket seats and the removal of the rear seat bench, although you can option it back in if preferred.

The front and rear bumpers have been tweaked, the interior tech gets a refresh, the steering has been fettled and you now get rear-wheel steering fitted as standard. Oh, and there are stickers depicting a manual shift pattern on the rear three-quarter windows. Bit naff, really. 

There's also something of a conceptual change in where the Carrera T sits in the range. As it stands, it's the only Carrera of any sort to get a manual gearbox. It's clearly positioned as the purist's choice, although it feels a bit weird to also make a convertible Carrera T Cabriolet for the first time. The coupe goes better with its ethos, if you ask us.

It's the tin-top version we've driven and it's simply wonderful. We could probably just leave the review there, but you're probably wanting to know a little more. What we can tell you is that while the turbocharged flat-six still doesn't sound quite as sweet as the naturally aspirated units the 911 Carrera used to use, it's still brimming with character.

It's curiously clattery at low revs while from the mid-range upwards, it howls fabulously. And that reduction in soundproofing, plus that thinner glass, means you get a much better aural experience here than in other 911 Carreras. With the turbochargers having to do less heavy lifting than in the more powerful S engine, it's also more responsive. Mid-range torque is decent, if not outstanding, so you do have to spin it up reasonably high to get the best out of it, which is never, ever a chore. 

Being able to change gears enhances the experience further. It's such a rare treat to drive a modern car not fitted with an automatic gearbox and the six-speed unit here is better sorted than the seven-speed unit found in the pre-facelift T. Each ratio glides in with a short, accurate throw of the lever, which is topped with an exquisite walnut gearknob. The gears are fairly long, mind – revving the car out in anything other than first or second will result in license-troubling speeds. 

Like all 911s, traction is incredible, helped by the atypical rear-mounted engine position. And also like all 911s, GT3 and GT3 RS aside, this does also give a hint of the nose wanting to wash a bit wide in some corners. Generally, though, the Carrera T feels very well resolved on a twisty road, with its firmer suspension setup giving an extra sense of purposefulness. 

It does, perhaps, go a bit far in this regard. While the ride settles with speed, you are bounced around by things like potholes and speed bumps when you're just pootling around. And yes, it's great hearing more of the engine, but the Carrera T's lightweighting efforts also result in a lot of road noise when you're cruising at 70mph. 

Whether or not you get a T or one of the many other Carrera derivatives, then, depends on whether its performance on a track or on a good country road is important enough for you to compromise it a little the rest of the time. For me, it definitely is. I'd be peeling off those shift pattern stickers upon delivery, though.

Engine:	Six-cylinder twin-turbo
Power:	394PS
0-62mph:	4.5 seconds