ON A glorious sunny day, I made my way to Thruxton for a day testing, on and off the circuit, some of the most desirable road cars in the world.

Judging by the huge number of people wanting to accompany me on this event, it is fair to suppose that for anyone with a liking for fast cars, I must have been the object of no little envy.

All I can say is, sorry guys, and yes, I had a fantastic time!

Now don't think that Porsche was going to allow us motoring hacks go hurtling round the track at huge speed unsupervised.

Oh no, with the better part of a million quids' worth of machinery at risk, we all had an experienced driver/instructor sitting alongside.

Various models, all with 3.6-litre engines, but very different performance levels, were on offer.

They started with the 3.6-litre Boxter Coupe priced at a mere £31,450, which has a top speed of 157 mph and a 0 to 62 mph figure of 6.6 secs, right up to the truly fearsome 911 GT2 costing £114,900, a 0 to 62 mph time of 4.1 secs and a top speed just short of 200 mph!

I started with the Boxster S convertible.

Costing £38,150m which may not quite be a supercar but is within reach of a lot more people than most of the other Porsche models, it is very pleasant to drive, on or off the track, and tops 160 mph with a 0 to 60 mph figure of 5.9 secs.

Then it was the £61,000 911 Carrera 2 Targa, with a 0 to 62 mph figure of 5.2. Pretty heady stuff all this and very impressive.

But the best was still to come.

The awesome 911 GT2 is definitely the sort of car you see some of the better known TV motoring hacks chucking around the track, eager to make the back end hang out and so on. No such histrionics for me, although I must admit to the temptation to see just how well it would perform on the track.

But I managed to put Satan behind me and behaved myself in a car so capable of performance driving, but equally docile at slow speeds, and just as enjoyable.

For me the ultimate Porsche is the current 911 Carrera 4C.

Besides having superb lines, seemingly limitless power, performance and comfort, as well as handling like a dream at all speeds due to its four-wheel drive, this is a car that is a delight just to sit in, let alone drive.

The coupe version I tested, and truly did not want to part with, has a top speed of about 190 mph and a 0 to 62 mph figure of 5.0 seconds, and that is quite fast enough for me!

It's an extra lottery ticket for me this week.

Contact: Dick Lovett Porsche, Ashworth Road, Swindon, 01793 615888.