In the rarefied world of supercars, when a new super sports car debuts the only question that matters is, "How does it compare to the Porsche 911 GT3?"

Got an extravagent McLaren or an exhorbitant Lamborghini? Yes, these flip-up door mid-engine exotics must still pass the GT3 test, even though they tend to cost much more. And as incredible as those cars are, they usually fall short of the Stuttgart benchmark.

Our own experience in the track-ready GT3 RS from the previous-generation car bore this out in testing at the same time as we drove the Ferrari Pista. The comparatively humble rear-engine GT3 was faster, more confidence-inspiring, and sounded just as good as the Prancing Horse exotic.

Now Porsche has raised the bar. And while the 911 has gotten incrementally better than the previous version, the GT3 edition is a significant leap forward from its predecessor (see our drive of that car below). Click through our 15-slide show to see why.