So we got a 2011 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS

When we heard that Porsche Middle East had bumped up their test-drive period to a little more than a day now, we were more than a little pleased. Previously, Porsche used to hand over test vehicles for just six hours at a time so as to avoid naive journalists, drunk or otherwise, from trashing their cars. So we’d never bothered to drive their cars before, outside of their spectacular roadshows at local race-tracks. But things change, and we went ahead and asked for a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS.

The GTS looks like any other 911. You’d have to be a real Porsche-phile to figure out the different variants. We were just happy to get some extended seat time in any kind of 911.

The rear-wheel-drive GTS is apparently distinguishable by its combination of black 19-inch RS Spyder wheels with centre-locking hubs, blacked-out lower rear bumper panel, and the wider rear fenders usually reserved for all-wheel-drive models. The increased power is all under the (rear) bonnet.

The interior benefits from an options list, alone worth the price of a Honda Civic itself. Leather on every inch of the cabin, extensive carbon-fibre trim, a touchscreen multimedia system and a lap timer on the dash, all make it obvious that Porsche plays at a higher level of luxury than something like the Nissan GT-R.

The 911 isn’t the rarest of sports cars, considering it has looked the same for the better part of a decade, but it still manages to turn a few heads. What turned our heads was its sheer capability around the tightest corners. Driving this car fast is enough to inadvertently make you break your fast. Read more about it in our upcoming “first drive” report this Ramadan.