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2021 BMW M4 Drag Races Audi RS6 Avant, Annihilation Follows

BMW makes faster cars for drag racing, but the M4 Competition is really hot right now. So hot that it decided to take on a German performance car with more power that's presumably faster, the Audi RS6 Avant.
2021 BMW M4 Drag Races Audi RS6 Avant, Annihilation Follows 3 photos
Photo: Archie Hamilton Racing/YouTube screenshot
2021 BMW M4 Drag Races Audi RS6 Avant, Annihilation Follows2021 BMW M4 Drag Races Audi RS6 Avant, Annihilation Follows
Before we get started, we need to get one thing out of the way: xDrive. BMW just announced the system will be available to order on the M4 and the M3 sedan later this year.

But for now, this coupe is held back by its RWD underpinnings. You can also have this powertrain with xDrive in the X3/X4 M, which might have actually performed better in the drag race. But like we said, everybody wants an M4 now.

The sports coupe has a lot of things going on. It comes from a long line of amazing cars, has very distinctive styling, and was equipped with the most powerful inline-6 engine to date. The twin-turbo 3.0L makes 503 hp, which is about 90 less than the RS6.

Those numbers are measured at the crank, and by the time it reaches the wheels, the AWD Audi might lose a few more of its ponies. But they do have roughly the same 8-speed ZF gearbox, and we're curious if the drag race highlights any setup differences.

The M4 is given another small advantage here. Can you spot it? The RS6 is being driven by the least experienced driver. You don't need to be a race car driver like Archie Hamilton to launch one of these German machines, but experience does matter.

But even on its good day, the rear-wheel-drive M4 doesn't seem to have a chance against the monstrous quattro V8. In the second drag race, we do see it catching up toward the end of the runway, but it's not enough.

A rolling race follows to prove just how close these are in terms of outright performance. The M4 just barely wins this one. It will be quite interesting to see what will happen when the M3 Touring arrives because that wagon could hypothetically be quicker than any Audi RS model.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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