Wheelarches fatter than the average owner’s wallet, dinner-plate sized drilled discs gleaming through mammoth 18in alloys and, yes, an electrically folding canvas top.

A seemingly incongruous clash of ideals – this is 911 Hollywood-style. Only we’re not in LA; this is Britain in October, it’s raining drops of water like knitting needles and the newspaper lying next to the Porsche keys is warning Brits to expect the sort of winter that would test the mettle of a Siberian husky. Clearly this isn’t perfect weather to enjoy Porsche’s new 911 Turbo Cabriolet, the first of the current turbo cars (but still using the outgoing 996 body shape) to get the roofless treatment.

Even leaving aside the UK’s inclement weather, you’re left with the thought that only the omission of the Tiptronic transmission (available as an option but not fitted to this car) denies this new Porsche the dubious distinction of being the least 911-like 911 money can buy. Cabriolet conversions rarely drive as well as the hard-top cars on which they’re based, the combination of the added weight used to replace the strength lost when cutting a huge hole in the roof and the slightly wobbly structure proving to be an anathema to hard-core enthusiasts.

Then there’s the inescapable fact that drop-top 911s have always looked slightly inelegant beside their coupé contemporaries. The arrival of the prettier Boxster drew further attention to the 911’s ungainly hunched back, so effectively disguised by the all-metal car’s more handsome roofline.