The newest iteration of the Porsche 911, surely one of the world’s greatest sports cars is headed India’s way. The latest 997 model version is what the well heeled Indian automotive enthusiast can buy provided he has deep pockets to not just own but also to insure and maintain. Adil Jal Darukhanawala trips the light fantastic as he makes friends with the 355bhp legend which is the newest Porsche 911 Carrera S. Who says motoring journalism doesn’t have its rewards?

They say that if the gods are smiling on you they come and greet you to celebrate the occasion in myriad fashions. Trouble is you not know which form the almighty would don in your hours / days / months / years of pleasure. Especially if as the Indian scriptures suggest that every human being is a version of god, this mere mortal hasn’t been able to understand who’s smiling on whom.

But that last Saturday of June, some 70km away from Hanover, I knew that I was in motoring heaven. And it had all got to do with the magic figure 911, those three digits which have enthralled sports car enthusiasts and millions of admirers the world over since Porsche launched its classic two-seater coupe to an unsuspecting public in 1963. Knowing that this was going to be my second encounter (after the Cayenne SUV) in as many months of experiencing Stuttgart’s finest, I wasn’t complaining but just getting down to the serious business of having fun, at 270kmph!

It is early days yet but surely the latest 911 (model 997 in Porsche works terminology) has been tamed and honed for even drivers of average skill to take to high speed motoring quite comfortably and safely and that was the first aspect I got to experience. I say this because of my experience. I say this because of my entertaining drive in a ten-yeas-old 911 some four years ago in Europe, the then 911’s handling had me running scared.

But before we proceed with the performance aspects and why I think a 911 would look good in my driveway, let’s get down to unraveling the 997 package which makes up the new 911 Carrera. To most the new 997 might look similar to the classic shape which has mesmerised aficionados since the early 1960s. But hey, step closer and let your gaze roam over the details and you can make out subtle differences over its predecessor, the 996. The haunches are more muscular but so beautifully sculpted that the bulk is never emphasised. The wider track and the slimmer, more accentuated waistline highlight the taut muscularity while the new round headlamps (with xenon lamps on Carrera S) make a move back to the classic detail of earlier 911s. Somehow I have never tired of the 911's shape ever since it was ingrained in my psyche when I laid eyes on it for the first time though keeping the faith and the form has been something of a disciplined chore for the Porsche designers led by the legendary Harm Lagaay whose handiwork the 997 is.

The very first 911 I saw in the flesh was that of Vijay Mallya at the Sholavaram race track some time in 1980 or thereabouts. It still stands out vividly in my subconscious because it was the first time Vijay had entered a race and he had brought this powerhouse of a car to outgun everyone on a circuit which worshipped power and rewarded those who had an abundance of it. Vijay was then just starting out in motorsport and a 911 driven in anger by an up and coming driver was always something to behold. He took the start, outdragged the rest and came down to the hairpin where too much power saw the 911 swap ends, throwing it into instant retirement.

I read and re-read millions of stories about the 911's handling quirks and how the tail heavy machine needed not just delicate skill and finesse but also big balls to hustle around circuits. It was therefore with some trepidation that I ventured close to the new 997s at the famous Schlosshotel Munchhausen (a castle built in 1570 which has now been converted into a hotel) where Porsche had set up base for the drive session. But I needn't have worried because help and advice came from a most welcome but unexpected source: twice World Rally Champion driver Walter Rohrl. The German who has also won the IMSA Trans­Am series as well as the Pike's Peak Hill Climb for Audi, is the official tester for all Porsche road-going cars and he informed me that this car wouldn't bite back. “The stability control programme and wide track makes it very safe and enjoyable," he informed me when he took me out for a 50km drive in the Hanover forest region. On the tight back roads in the Prussian countryside, the combination of Rohrl and the latest 911 was intoxicating.

It was difficult to understand first whether it was Rohrl making the car sing to his tune or was it a fine medley of two greats strumming in unison. Things became clear the next day when I was handed a 911 and told to get on with a nearly 450km drive through some of the most scenic country roads plus also a 120km stretch of high speed autobahn. From the moment I pressed the clutch in time honoured Porsche tradition and hit the ignition key to fire the flat six into life to the time I drove back into the schloss that evening, I knew one thing: the 911 made me feel like Rohrl!

The new 911 features one of the most potent engine packages in the business. In fact anything over 220bhp is hot in our parlance but when you are talking about 325 to 355 thoroughbreds from Weissach, one is in serious heavyweight stuff. Porsche 911s have always been about a blend of power and balance and this thought still pervades in the 997. The basic Carrera comes with a 3596cc flat-six quad cam, all-aluminium water-cooled engine delivering 325bhp at 6800rpm and making 370Nm of torque at 4250rpm. If this is powerful, wait for the Carrera S, Porsche bumping capacity to 3824cc and the boxer six motor thus packed dishes out 355bhp at 6600rpm while making a prodigious 400Nm of torque at 4600rpm. These are Ferrari rivalling power and torque figures and it is just as well that Porsche has refined the aerodynamics. The Carrera S has a drag coefficient of 0.29 and incidence of axle lift has been pushed lower on both ends while the underbody is now one smooth flat surface.

The new 911s come with a choice of transmission: either a brand new 6-speed manual or the Tiptronic S gearbox. Handling 400Nm of torque meant the 6-speeder was the logical choice and I had that for the duration of my run. That isn't meant to run down the Tiptronic but when you have a fire breather of a motorcar, you want to be in control and take it to its limit rather than the gearbox controlling how to get you there.

One detail about the powerplant which caught my ear, that's right you did hear me correctly, was the howling exhaust note which changed pitch and tenor as the revs were dialled in more and more. I thought I had heard sweeter notes before but here was automotive music to dance to as one put the loud pedal to the floor. It was truly awesome and it yet reverberates in my head whenever I think back to the 911 drive.

What truly impressed me about the engine of the Carrera was its sheer tractability. It could potter around at crawling speeds with no snatch or jerk but with sheer silken delivery. Hit the throttle pedal hard and the horses would just unleash the full force of their thrust pinning the driver into the back of his seat horribly quickly yet without ruffling his composure. Porsche claims a 0­100kmph time of 4.8 seconds for the Carrera S, a 0-160kmph time of 10.7 seconds and a 0-200kmph time of 16.5 seconds putting it firmly into that band of ultra-quick projectiles which need to be handled with respect. Add to that a top whack of 293kmph and one can see we are talking performance unlike any other car which has bee announced for sale in India. I have no reason to doubt the performance claims because out on the autobahn, I had the Carrera's needle wound up way past the 270kmph mark and would have gone even closer to the claimed top end were it not for me coming up on traffic very quickly. The amazing thing is that you do 100kmph in second gear, and as you keep on shifting into one higher cog after another, the engine never drops off the revs and the torque just gets thicker and thicker. The six-speed manual is a fantastic piece of kit and using it - more and more - seems just the natural thing to do. The clutch was nicely weighted and the short throws to hit any of the six cogs just widened the smile more and more. I have not driven any other standard production car which delivered so much confidence and poise that going pedal to the metal was always a means of finding my own limits rather than explore the even higher levels of the car's performance envelope.