Depending on your perspective, the RS engine gets a 20-hp boost compared to the standard 911 GT3or the GT3 gets a 20-hp haircut compared to the RS. The engines are almost identical. Both receive new pistons and rings, a solid valvetrain with shims for valve-clearance compensation (in place of hydraulic adjustment), a stiffer crankshaft with larger main bearings, wider and thicker connecting-rod bearings, and plasma-coated cylinder liners. Compared with the last RS, Porsche also bumped up the compression ratio, from 12.9:1 to 13.3:1. The 20-hp gap between the current GT3 and the GT3 RS comes down to electronics and a different exhaust system. The RS’s exhaust also gets titanium tailpipes, the inside of which turn the loveliest cobalt blue from prolonged exposure to heat. The car sounds so good at higher revs—you can twist the engine to 9000 rpm—that we let out a completely unintentional “Whoo!” once we reached the upper reaches of the tach, and our co-driver had to remind us to back out because of a quickly approaching corner. It’s that fantastic.

That extra power, we estimate, chops a whopping 0.1 second off the previous GT3 RS’s zero-to-60-mph time. The last GT3 RS we tested did the deed in three seconds flat.

Not that this, or any other RS, is a drag racer. This is a track-day destroyer. Its cornering grip is, well, massive. We weren’t able to run numbers on the car, but we’re willing to venture a guess that it’ll score higher than the 1.08 g that we achieved with the last RS. That grip starts with a new generation of either Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 or Dunlop Sport Maxx Race 2 gumballs. Sized 265/35ZR-20 up front and 325/30ZR-21 at the rear, either tire is qualified for the track and acceptable on the road, assuming the weather is okay. The front and rear suspension systems use metal ball joints in place of all-rubber pieces (the last-generation RS retained some rubber up front). Stiffer front and rear springs quell body roll, despite the new RS’s less aggressive front anti-roll bar.