It's rare. It's fast. It's expensive. Meet the 2011 Porsche 911 Speedster. First shown in October at the Paris Auto Show, the $204,400 humpbacked 911 arrives at U.S. dealerships early next year.

On paper, the rear-wheel-drive 911 Speedster appears to be a heavily optioned 911 GTS Cabriolet, albeit one with a bubbled tonneau cover. Having just driven the new GTS with the 408-horsepower 3.8-liter flat-six and Turbo-width rear track, we knew going into this drive that the uprated equipment makes a good foundation for the Speedster. Building on the GTS' enhanced mechanicals, the Speedster also gets the seven-speed PDK dual clutch, Sport Chrono Plus, Porsche Active Suspension Management and Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes. Take it or leave it, this is the only way the Speedster comes.

But so much for on-paper specs. To find out what the 911 Speedster is like on the road, we headed to Palm Springs, California for a mid-winter desert blast