Recently I was given the opportunity to spend an afternoon with the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

Any previously written rave reviews about this car in motoring publications are entirely justified.

This IS a race car for the road.  As proven by Porsche in the Nurburgring 24 Hours race at the weekend, they drove an RS there, raced it finishing 13th, and drove it home again.

It looks like a racing car and certainly sounds like one.

The rumbling, grumbling throb of the flat six engine at idle and the squeal of the carbon ceramic brakes, the pinging of stones picked up by the sticky tyres on the underside of the wheel arches as you first pull away all build anticipation of the speed and sensations to come.

First a confession. I didn’t find/know about, the ‘sport’ button. Had I done so it would have been firmly pressed, it allows for a slightly looser rein on the traction control and more importantly opens two baffles in the exhaust system to allow an even louder noise from the twin central pipes.

However don’t let this fool you into thinking that without the ‘sport’ button this becomes some sort of granny-shopper car.

Putting your foot to the floor all the way to 7900 rpm produces 444 bhp propelling just 1370 kg, and if unprepared slams you into the seat back as the car seems to hurl itself at the horizon.

Noise is not a problem. There’s plenty of it!

Its a proper masochist this engine, it responds best to a good thrashing and produces a pure, rasping howl at the limit of the rev range. By the time you’ve done this in third gear you’ll be well into illegal speeds. Any more can only really be enjoyed on a race track or autobahn.

Super-quick and communicative steering, a dead-body heavy clutch, six short stacked gears and eye popping brakes continue the racing theme. As do the interior additions and extractions.

Suede, or a fake substitute, covers most of the interior surfaces including the steering wheel so sweaty hands are less likely to slip - no aircon in here so the committed driver will appreciate that.

No rear seats, but a roll cage, a lack of sound deadening and plastic rear window all add lightness. The red fabric straps that you have to use to open the doors are a bit of a gimmick, awkward to use and the cover must weigh almost as much as the handles. Looks good though.

Our photographer was very underwhelmed by the dull grey of the test car but the garish graphics applied to the rear wings almost make up for it, and a nondescript colour may allow you to blend into traffic a little easier.

£104,841 is what Porsche asks for their most focused 911 currently on sale. 4 seconds to 60 mph and a 193 mph top speed, the last thing following drivers will see is the carbon wing disappearing into the distance. Bargain.