Last week, we showed you how the BMW i8 held its own against an Audi R8 at a special drag racing event where supercars were as common as MPVs are in Germany these days. This time, we’re looking at yet another 3-cylinder hybrid versus an atmospheric V8 showdown, and we’re afraid the result won’t be too different from what we saw in the case of the R8.
That being said, let’s take a look at our competitors here and how they stack up on paper. We need to underline the fact that the real-world outcome might be different, no matter what the specs say.
The i8 is BMW’s first sportscar to use a hybrid configuration. The front axle is animated by an electric motor making 131 HP similar to the one on the i3. It also has a two-stage gearbox hooked up to it.
On the rear axle, we’ll find a turbocharged 1.5-liter 3-cylinder unit making 231 HP and 320 Nm (236 lb-ft) of torque that is preoccupied only with pushing the car forward. Hooked up to a 6-speed automatic gearbox, this second unit makes the car AWD when in Sport Mode and a force to be reckoned with on the track.
Going from zero to 62 mph (100 km/h) takes 4.4 seconds and reaching the limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph) doesn’t take long either.
On the other side of the drag strip, we have an older Aston Martin V8 Vantage, a sportscar, not a supercar, no matter how good it looks. Astons are not known to be extremely fast cars, but they are drop dead gorgeous.
Under its hood, it has a 4.7-liter V8 good for 420 HP and 469 Nm (346 lb-ft), numbers that do look better than on the i8 with its 362 HP and 570 Nm (420 lb-ft) of torque. However, in a drag race, the fact that the BMW has all-wheel drive and a considerable advantage in torque (not to mention weight as well) should give the Bavarian the winning hand. Let’s see.
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