2016 Porsche 911 Carrera S PDK, car review: Forced induction fights off the emissions bogeyman

But is it a phyrric victory?

If you’ve driven the entry-level version of the new Carrera, you might struggle to see why anyone would bother with the faster, more expensive, higher-tech S.

Unless you’ve driven it too.

Its engine is now smaller (and more fuel-efficient) than the previous model’s. But it’s twin-turbocharged and it smashes out 414bhp and 369lb ft, so size isn’t everything.

As it turns out, revs is everything. Or rather, low revs is everything. Because that’s what defines this new engine, and therefore this new Carrera.

2016 Porsche 911 Carrera S PDK

Price: £88,245
Engine: 6cyls horizontally opposed, 2981cc, turbocharged, petrol
Power: 414bhp at 6500rpm
Torque: 369lb ft at 1700rpm
0-62mph: 3.9sec
Top speed: 190mph
Gearbox: 7-spd dual-clutch automatic
Kerb weight: 1460kg
Economy: 36.7mpg (combined)
CO2: 174g/km, 29%

Peak torque is yours at just 1700rpm. There are diesels that can’t say that. And the result is epic, overwhelming performance, rising from the centre of the earth and pushing, pushing, pushing until you’re looking back as the world recedes into a speck.

The revised 7-speed PDK auto in our test car is exceptionally well tuned to the engine’s output. But you don’t need to change gear half as much as you used to. Wherever you are in the rev range, it’s just urge, urge, urge.

If ever there was a car to make the most of what its engine gives it, of course, it’s the 911. This latest Carrera S has adjustable shocks, in the shape of the PASM active suspension system, and that makes it handle better than ever.

Which, in case you didn’t know, is very well indeed. Now that you don’t need to change gear just for fun, you might find yourself changing lane instead. The way the car’s body responds to anything, everything it gets from the steering wheel is just a complete treat.

So too is the touch screen used for operating the in-car ents, and that’s not something we’ve been able to say about a Carrera before. It’s a 7” unit and it’s crisp, clear and fast-moving, just as these things should be. Especially when the car they’re in is a bit on the crisp and fast-moving side itself.