The new Porsche 911 Carrera T is a lighter, manual-only rear-drive sportscar

This is the new 992.2 Porsche 911 Carrera T, and you can turn the configurator off and step back into the light: this is the 911 you want.

Likely because of the eleventy million 911 versions available, this is one of the coolest. Porsche itself says this new Mr T “is about concentrating on the essentials”, and when those essentials are as simple as a flat-six engine, a manual gearbox, and some rear-wheel-drive, you’ll wonder why you hovered over the ‘GT3’ button.

It gets the now familiar 3.0-litre twin-turbo boxer, here developing 389bhp and 332lb ft of torque. Which is the same as the base 911 Carrera. Only, it’s slower than the base 911 Carrera, because where that car will go from 0-62mph in 3.9s (with the Sport Chrono Pack), this one manages it in 4.5s.

So although it’s more powerful than the last 911 T (nomenclature reintroduced in 2017 that harks back to the original 911 ‘Touring’ from 1968) it’s actually… the slowest 911 you can buy. Brilliant. Even slower if you opt for the 911 T Cabriolet, available as an open-top for the first time, because that car goes from 0-62mph in 4.7s. You won’t care.

Not when there’s a proper six-speed manual gearbox with a wooden gearknob, and only a six-speed manual gearbox with a wooden gearknob. No PDK wizardry here (which explains why the base Carrera is so much faster).

There are big 350mm discs all round with six-pot calipers at the front. That’s a lot of pots. Porsche says the Mr T’s “reduced interior insulation” and “auto-blip function” of the gearbox, combined with a standard-fit sports exhaust system “contributes to a particularly emotive soundscape”.

Along with less sound-deadening and a manual ‘box that’s lighter than the PDK, Porsche has fitted lightweight windows and offered lightweight bucket seats as an option. The lightest version you can spec comes in a full 40kg lighter than a base Carrera, weighing in at 1,478kg.

Which means you’ll be able to better enjoy the standard-fit rear-axle steering, a “more direct” steering ratio, 10mm lower suspension with adaptive dampers, and a bespoke setup that has “enabled the anti-roll bars on the front and rear axles to be tuned for neutral handling”. Lightweight alloys are also there, and they’re massive: 20/21in front and back.

Naturally there are a myriad of smaller details adorning the Mr T, like a special sticker inside featuring the shift pattern logo, a spoiler lip pinched from big brother GTS, a raft of ‘Legends’ body colour options, a stopwatch that forms part of the standard-fit Sport Chrono Pack, and of course, that walnut laminated gearknob.

If you don’t spec the lightweight buckets, you get four-way adjustable sports seats as standard, and you can choose from any number of optional design packs for both the outside and inside.

Which means the base price of £111,300 for the Mr T Coupe, and £121,300 for the Mr T Cabriolet probably won’t stay that way for too long. So just focus on the essentials, then: sixer, manual ‘box, rear-wheel-drive. Is this the coolest 911?