2021 Mercedes GLA Gets Compared to Old 911 Carrera Because of Close Power Levels

We’ve seen fully electric Porsches and Harley motorcycles get interrupted by the quirky Citroën Ami while trying to race each other, as well as other interesting stuff like the Toyota GR Yaris going for a quick lap against the mighty Nissan GT-R. So why not an apples vs. oranges take on German vehicles, on American roads?

After all, the good folks over at TFL are no strangers to odd pairings when it suits their entertainment needs. On this occasion, though, there’s a question that popped up: have cars gotten faster over the years? And they brought out a couple of vehicles from vastly different backgrounds for the challenge.

First up on the roster is the 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet. Back in the day, it was a full-blown 1980s sports car and has now graduated to becoming a classic car icon. But its power is eerily similar to what another German vehicle has under the hood, though, with the 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 crossover sporting some 222 hp.

First up for the speed battle is the horizontally opposed six-cylinder equipped 911, which at the time of release had either 215 horsepower (217 hp, according to the TFL host) or 228 hp thanks to the 3.2-liters of displacement. Now, we can safely assume that some of the ponies got lost in the meantime, which is quite apparent from the 1:55 mark when it’s time for the zero to 60 mph (96 kph) dash “with no launch control, no sport mode, nothing like that.”

Hence the 9.97s and 9.92s results from a couple of runs at “one mile above sea level.” Next up comes the 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 with its own presentation from the 3:15 mark (and top five likes and dislikes from 5:45) and the much more respectable performances of 7.51s and 7.58-seconds.