Porsche has finally washed up on our shores, officially launching its entire range in the country. Sirish Chandran gets aboard the first 911 S in the country for a drive impression on the most iconic of all sports cars.

God, I'm speechless. Utterly and totally speechless. Beginning to drool a bit too; must watch the paint, must watch the paint. Most unbecoming of a motoring journo, this behaviour. I'm supposed to have seen cars of all shapes and sizes (and driven them too) but this - this is like being a kid all over again. Being sat in dad's lap having my first twirl at the steering wheel. This is why I am a motoring journo. This is heaven.

Self control of such a magnitude is not my forte especially with that exhaust making all sorts of intoxicating noises. Like the devil himself coaxing me to be naughty and play nasty with the loud pedal. But every crunch over every hump reminds me that my bank balance can probably pay for the mirrors. Or maybe not.

Gives me time to fiddle around with various buttons in the leather swathed cabin. Sports cars are said to have cozy cabins and the 911 is no Maybach but, and that's important, she fits around you like a well-worn shoe. The comfortable sport seats grip you in all the right places (just remember the rear seats are for cripples and toddlers only), the dozen-speakers-plus Bose stereo is rocking and the central display tells you more that what you ever wanted to know.

Plus our car was fitted with the Sports Chrono package that allows the driver to set various parameters (revs, throttle response etc) to suit his driving style and mood. There's also a chronometer to the dash that will allow us to time our laps of Marine Drive.

And then we hit Marine Drive. All sense of responsibility flies out of the window and I floor it. Hard. And it takes my breath away. Literally she drives the wind out of me as I'm pinned to the seat utterly stupefied at the speed at which everything whizzes by. Make no mistake, I've driven fast cars, but this is fast on a different plane. Fast, so fast, I can't muster enough courage to keep the throttle pinned for more than a couple of seconds. And in those few seconds she shot to three times the legal speed limit on Marine Drive. That's what 355bhp in a 1420kg car can do. And the noise. Oh. My. God! That deep gurgle explodes into a burbly flat six roar that I can't quite describe but can assure will raise the hair on your hands. God, I need to hear it again, and again and again and again...

Little wonder reams of praise have been written about the 911 and this, the 997, is the crowning glory of forty years of 911 development. Porsches have always been about great engineering and the 997 is no different. The car I'm driving is the S version that puts out the aforesaid 355bhp of power and 400Nm of torque from the 3824cc, four valve per cylinder, variable valve timed and switchable intake manifold equipped boxer six. All of which rockets the Carrera S to 100kmph in 4.8sec, 160kmph in 10.7sec, 200kmph in 16.5sec and a top speed of 293kmph. Which gets me thinking, where the hell are we going to test its top speed in India apart from sneaking it into the Mumbai airport and outdragging a 747. Which it can, mind you.

Porsche will also bring the standard 3596cc boxer six that develops 325bhp and 370Nm of torque and is one second slower than the S to 200kmph. Plenty fast enough.

And you obviously need brakes to match which is why our car was kitted out with ceramic discs. The 350mm Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB) are the ultimate word in braking systems and are gripped by four-piston calipers finished in yellow (red are for the standard 300mm steel discs). Power is channelled to the rear wheels by either a six-speed manual or in our case a Tiptronic auto 'box that has a manual over-ride via toggle switches on the steering wheel.

Look around the cabin and you will find a small button that operates the active damper system that adjusts both the ride height and the electronically controlled dampers. Drivers can choose between two settings - a comfort-style setting that has a slightly softer ride quality till the driver starts hustling her when the system automatically adopts a tauter stance and a track biased Sport setting wherein the dampers cancel out pitch and yaw and make for a faster track tool. I won't even pretend to have hustled the 911 to anywhere close to her handling limits. But in whatever hustling I could muster in Mumbai the car was on a different plane to my abilities, flattering my every move, remaining calm and unruffled and goading me to go twice as quickly.

Aiding aforesaid track work is variable ratio rack and pinion steering that's brilliantly responsive and direct making the 911 feel like a racing car. While the standard 911 comes with 18-inch wheels, our S was shod with the full-on 19-inch wheels running 235/35 and massive 295/30 Michelin Pilot Sports. In fact check out any 911 from the rear and she looks awesome riding on those impossibly wide tyres.

Actually the whole car looks impossibly stunning, pictures don't do her enough justice. Heart-achingly stunning and so very much a 911. Apparently the only body panel carried over from the outgoing 911 series (the 996) is the roof but you wouldn't know that as the 911 retains derivative styling and now looks more like the (much-loved) previous generation 993. Which is no bad thing; why mess with an iconic shape that still gets young boys and grown men wet their pants and still sets the template for sports car design.

In a nutshell this is the most fun you could ever have with your clothes on. Actually this is the most fun you could ever have, period. And as of last month the 911 Carrera, the Carrera S and the Cayenne were officially launched in India and will soon be available through Porsche centres in Mumbai and Delhi. Incidentally this car we drove costs Rs 72 lakh and that's before RTO, insurance and other taxes so you have to have deep pockets. Who said heaven comes cheap?