This is the Porsche 911 Black Edition. It's as predictable as three inches of snow bringing the UK's transport network to a juddering halt: just when you think you've got your head round the myriad versions of the 911 Porsche has to offer, Stuttgart throws a curve ball in the form of another new model variant.
This time it's a 1911-car long run of coupes and cabriolets based on the 911 Carrera. The Black Edition is painted in plain black as standard, with Basalt Black metallic available as an option. The electric-folding hood of the cabriolet is trimmed in black cloth. Other exterior tweaks include 19-inch 911 'Turbo II' forged alloy wheels, which cover black-finished (of course), four-piston aluminium monobloc fixed callipers.
The black theme continues inside. There's black lettering on the stainless steel door entry guards, black leather seats and a black dash. Mind you, you do get aluminium-look paint to finish the decorative fascia strip, gear lever and air vents.
The Black Edition also comes with plenty of toys, including sat-nav, park assist, cruise control and a Bose sound system.
Unfortunately there's no extra power to be had, but then again 345hp and a 180mph top speed is reasonable in the first place...
The 911 Black Edition goes on sale from April 2011 and is priced from £67,270 for the coupe and £74,958 for the cabriolet - an increase of precisely zero pounds over standard 911 Carrera models.
Included in the purchase price is the invitation for customers to explore the dynamic attributes of their 911 and develop their own skills behind the wheel, courtesy of a Driving Experience Programme at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone.