Video: Porsche 911 Carrera T vs GT3 Touring

Both are Porsche 911s, both have manual gearboxes, both do without back seats and wings… but each has something very different lurking over the rear axle.

The 911 GT3 Touring is essentially a GT3 without the rear spoiler and a compulsory six-speed manual gearbox. That means it has the same 493bhp 4.0-litre flat-six with a 9,000rpm redline – winner of the Top Gear engine of the year award, no less.

£30,000 cheaper and with a 128bhp defecit, the Carrera T is less well endowed, but with its seven-speed manual, lower suspension, thinner glass, and option to remove the rear seats and sat-nav, it’s just as driver focused.

Is this fashion for retro-flavoured sports cars just marketing guff, or is there a tangible benefit to the driver? And which car makes us smile more on a series of epic roads in the South of France? Want to know the answers? Step this way...