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It’s been a very long time since I opened the door to a Porsche 911 without a clear idea of what I was about to experience. Consequently the dark metallic blue 991 is something of a novelty. This is the first time I’ve seen one without pre-production disguise, or under dazzling motor show lights. It’s certainly no disappointment. The shape is curvier, more sumptuous, the frontal styling more expressive, the tail more memorable. The stance is broader, but it doesn’t look at all bulky. If anything it’s more lithe and athletic than the 997. It’s a very handsome car.

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As soon as you sit in the driver’s seat you know you’re in a grown-up car. It looks and feels premium in a way the 997 didn’t, which is just as well given Porsche’s bullish pricing. Aside from the optional PDK transmission (£2387) and sports exhaust (£1772), this Carrera’s hardware is pretty basic. There’s no PASM adaptive suspension, PCCB brakes, Sport Chrono package or ride-enhancing, roll-reducing PDCC system. Yet still it’s just shy of £80K (up from £71,449 basic), which is big money for an entry-level 911.

The test proper starts tomorrow morning. Before then I’ve got a three-hour drive to Crickhowell in south Wales. Most of this will be on major motorways and A-roads, which is the perfect introduction to what Porsche tells us is the most refined, most comfortable and everyday-capable 911 ever. It certainly feels that way as we rasp up the slip road and onto the motorway (I thought I’d better check that the button for the sports exhaust works). Even on passive springs and dampers, the Carrera has a beautifully settled, composed feel. The extra 100mm in the wheelbase calms any propensity the previous 911 had to ‘bobble’ through undulations, while tyre noise – especially the slap-slap generated by expansion joints – is more subdued.

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