DOES SOUTHERN China really need another 330km/h, bazillion-cylinder supercar? Does it really need another car with more than 600-brake horsepower (450 kilowatts), yet space for only two people and perhaps one-quarter of their luggage?
Strictly speaking, of course it doesn't. But drive the Porsche Carrera GT, as we have, and you'll rejoice that the world really wanted this car. Pragmatic Porsche wouldn't have built the most potent road-going model in its history purely for art's sake.
The Carrera GT is a limited-edition, race-engineered supercar, much in the mould of the Ferrari Enzo and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. Throw in the classic McLaren F1 of 1993 and there isn't a performance increment on four wheels that isn't covered somewhere among this highly exclusive Porsche.
It's the Ferrari Enzo that will draw the most comparisons with the Carrera GT, however. The 5.7-litre, V10-engined Porsche trails only marginally in most technical respects - not to mention a landed (British) price tag equivalent to 'only' HK$4.6 million, against the Enzo's HK$5.8 million.
And while the Enzo was merely the latest of Ferrari's 10-yearly supercar instalments, Porsche had never intended to build the Carrera GT, at all.
Flash back to the late 1990s, at the 24 hours of Le Mans. Porsche, having watched marques as diverse as Mazda, Peugeot and McLaren snaffle various victories, is reasserting its dominance in the world's most famous sports car race, with three consecutive wins from 1996-1998.