Photo Finish: 630-HP BMW M3 Competition Drag Races 700-HP Nissan GT-R

We’re not completely certain about their curb weights because the four-door sedan and two-door coupe are both modified. Airline pilot Tseno Krastev mentions 630 horsepower for the Bimmer, coming courtesy of the MHtronik Powerbox from the peeps at Manhart. Mounted right next to the engine control unit, this plug-and-play unit is currently priced at €2,525.

In other words, $2,710 sans shipping costs. Manhart advertises the M3 Competition-specific MHtronik Powerbox with 635 ps and 780 Nm, metric units which convert to 626 horsepower and 575 pound-feet. By comparison, the bone-stock M3 Competition belts out a respectable 510 ps (503 hp) and 650 Nm (479 lb-ft) from 2,750 all the way to 5,500 rpm.

Not bad for a 3.0-liter sixer assisted by a couple of spinny lads. The R35 levels up to a 3.8-liter engine, and its cylinders are arranged in a V rather than in a line. Although it’s not as torquey as the M3 Competition fully stock, it does have the upper hand in terms of horsepower. But still, peak horsepower is delivered higher up in the RPM range. Tseno doesn’t mention what kind of mods the blue-painted R35 in the video below is running, but we do know that 700-ish ponies are hiding under the hood.

Lighter, more powerful, and probably torquier than the Bavarian sedan, the Japanese coupe is a pretty old car. Not this car per se, but the design. Nissan started production of the R35 back in December 2007 for the 2009 model year, which is 15-going-on-16 years ago. Feeling old yet? Jokes aside, both the dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel-drive system of the R35 are outclassed by more contemporary DCTs and AWD systems.

As opposed to the F80, the G80 runs a torque-converted automatic transmission because the CLAR platform on which it’s based was developed with the ZF 8HP in mind. The Nissan, meanwhile, uses the Premium Midship platform derived from the Front Midship. The FM debuted with the 2001 model year V35-series Infiniti G series, so yeah, that car is pretty old.

From a dig, the modified R35 launches like a missile. Almost immediately after the start, the G80 closes in and pulls away from the R35 for a wee bit. However, the GT-R begins to catch up as they approach the quarter mile. The photo finish clearly shows the R35 crossing it a whisker ahead of the G80, but the RaceBox performance meter tells a different story.

More specifically, the M3 Competition recorded 10.85 seconds in the quarter mile, 7.02 seconds from 100 to 200 kilometers per hour (62 to 124 miles per hour), and 3.00 seconds flat from zero to 100 clicks. By comparison, the R35 recorded 10.89, 6.63, and 3.17 seconds. Error or no error, there’s no denying that both are seriously impressive machines.