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800 HP Audi RS3 Drag Races 800 HP Lancer Evo 8, Both Are Turbo Monsters

Even though it's been discontinued for many years, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo is still one of the most popular big-turbo project cars. We're quite familiar with what one of these AWD compacts can do with the right set of mods and often wondered how much faster a modern Audi RS3 would be, if at all.
800 HP Audi RS3 Drag Races 800 HP Lancer Evo 8, Both Are Turbo Monsters 5 photos
Photo: Hoonigan/YouTube screenshot
800 HP Audi RS3 Drag Races 800 HP Lancer Evo 8, Both Are Turbo Monsters800 HP Audi RS3 Drag Races 800 HP Lancer Evo 8, Both Are Turbo Monsters800 HP Audi RS3 Drag Races 800 HP Lancer Evo 8, Both Are Turbo Monsters800 HP Audi RS3 Drag Races 800 HP Lancer Evo 8, Both Are Turbo Monsters
Hoonigan managed to put together the perfect race for that, between two cars that are separated by over a decade yet somehow end up making the same 800 horsepower. Is the performance gap created by the extra cyliner of the 2.5 TFSI and 7-speed "DSG" gearbox really there?

While both cars are technically sports compacts, there are obviously huge differences as well. We have a 2018 Audi RS3, which when new would have made half the power, still a respectable 800 HP. It's also technically a luxury car and because modern cars are all about that safety, its weight is 500 lbs (227 kg) more than the Lancer. That about as much as a full load of passengers.

The AWD system in this is more along the lines of an on-demand setup, though it does react pretty quickly, making the RS3 one of the quickest small cars at the drag strip. This particular dragster has been featured before and it lost to a Nissan 370Z Pro Drifter. However, it was since discovered the Audi wasn't hooking up properly because of the Haldex system malfunctioning.

But don't think the Evo came unprepared. While the Mk VIII came out in the early 2000s and made about 280 horsepower. This model is more of a dragster that just happens to be road-legal. The four-cylinder is making 800 hp, as we mentioned, sent through a new 5-speed synchromesh transmission. Sure, the "DSG" (that's not what Audi calls it) might be faster, but fitting drag radials to the Evo could swing the outcome the other way.

We don't want to spoil this one for you. Let's just say the gap is small but clear.

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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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