Porsche has announced it will make exactly 1,911 copies of this, the 911 Carrera Black Edition, to commemorate... something or other.

Now we know what you're thinking. You're thinking, 'oh, they've just painted it black and put some big black wheels on it so they can charge me five grand more.'

Well, Sir Cynical, you're wrong, for it costs the very same as the 911 Carrera on which it's based: £67,270. Or £74,958 for the Cabriolet version. So there.

Yes, this is the bargain 911, because those 19-inch forged Turbo alloys (which aren't actually black, so you were wrong about that too) and all the extra bits inside would cost quite a lot if chosen from Porsche's extortio... sorry... high value options list.

The interior is black leather and it gets a SportDesign steering wheel as standard, and there's a numbered plaque on the glove compartment lid. A Bose sound system comes as standard, as does satnav, park assist, cruise control and automatic wipers.

Power comes from the Carrera's regular 3.6-litre flat six, meaning 340bhp at 6,500rpm and a 180mph top speed. You can have the standard six-speed manual (which we would) or go for the excellent but slightly less involving seven-speed PDK. That said, PDK shaves a couple of tenths off the 0-62mph time, taking it to 4.7 seconds in the Coupé.

It goes on sale in April in the UK, though we're sure your Porsche dealer will put one away for you if you go in now and ask nicely.

Mark Nichol - 25 Jan 2011