The brawny Nissan has similar power to the Porsche, looks great and has character by the bucket-load. It's probably more accessible for a broader audience too, but not at the expense of a real depth of ability. At £25,500 brand new, it's one of the true bargains of the decade.

I've driven enough old cars and 'classics' to know that they're usually a massive letdown. The real icons - 2.7 RS, quattro Sport, etc - don't disappoint, but unless the car in question was genuinely ground-breaking and freakishly capable in its heyday, it's rare that it won't feel (in no particular order) slow, baggy, soft and archaic today.

The Porsche certainly feels archaic when you nestle into its slim seats and survey the ergonomic mess ahead of you, but as soon as you twist the key and feel the precision in the clutch take-up, the perfect weighting of the brake and throttle pedals, and the way the car feeds information through the seat and the wheel, you know that, rational or not, the 993 can still cut it in 2006.

That unique 911 feel hasn't grown tiresome after 10,000 miles of varied road driving, not to mention the odd track outing. And I'm sure you could add another zero to that number and the sentence would still hold true. It's a truly rewarding car, and despite a few obvious deficiencies compared with most new cars (lack of satnav, awful ventilation, poor headlights) it really needs no excuses. Even with cars like the 350Z around, the 993 still has incredible appeal. Harry says it has to go soon, but he'll have to catch me first...