This is the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, a swansong for the current 997 range as the most powerful and potentially best-handling regular production Carrera yet.

Unlike Porsche’s more extreme GT2, GT3 and Turbo 911s and their derivatives, the rear-wheel-drive GTS aims to preserve the Carrera’s day-to-day practicality while also boosting power, performance and dynamic ability.

Power from the Carrera S’s 3.8-litre direct-injection flat six engine is increased by 23bhp to 402bhp. Peak torque of 42.8kgm is now available at 4200rpm, 200rpm lower than in the Carrera S.

On offer will be a six-speed manual gearbox as standard. Porsche’s seven-speed PDK gearbox with steering wheel-mounted shifters will be available as an option. The manual GTS has a top speed of 306kph, 4kph higher than the Carrera S’s. Its 0-100kph time is cut by 0.1sec to 4.6sec, and is as low as 4.2sec in a GTS coupé with PDK and the Sport Chrono Package Plus in Sport Plus mode.

The biggest visual change to the GTS is that the rear is 44mm wider than the Carrera S to accommodate a wider track. Porsche claims this “further enhances the chassis dynamics”. A new sports exhaust system is also added, with two dual tailpipes painted black on the outside. Porsche says this exhaust set-up produces “a unique sound”.

The GTS rides on 19in RS Spyder high-gloss black alloy wheels with 235/35 ZR19 tyres at the front and 305/35 ZR19 at the rear. Other styling changes include a SportDesign front bumper with a black spoiler edge and black side skirts. The rear bumper is painted black between the tailpipes and Carrera GTS logos are added to the doors and engine cover.

The black-finished cabin features Alcantara on the centre sections of the front sports seats, SportDesign steering wheel, gearlever and handbrake.