992 Porsche 911 Turbo Drag Races 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Coupe, It's Not Even Close

Although 63 means four cylinders in the C-Class, the GT 63 Coupe uses a twin-turbocharged V8 with 585 ps and 800 Nm to its name, meaning 577 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. Weighing in at 1,895 kilograms or 4,178 pounds in Euro specification, the Merc is a front-engined affair with a wet start-off clutch automatic transmission as opposed to a PDK for the Porker.

Similar to every other 911 before it, we're dealing with a rear-mounted boxer with six pots arranged in three per bank. It's not as large as the hand-built V8 of the AMG, with Porsche advertising 3,745 cubic centimeters for the 911 Turbo compared to 3,982 cubes for the dry-sump V8 of the GT 63 Coupe.

Be that as it may, 580 ps and 750 Nm are pretty close to the Merc's crankshaft numbers. The 911 Turbo-specific engine is good for 650 ps and 800 Nm in the 911 Turbo S, but racing an S against a 63 in a straight line would be unfair. To this effect, Motorsport Magazine decided on the non-S version of the Neunelfer for a good ol' dig race. Not over the quarter mile, but rather a kilometer because France adopted the metric system in the late 18th century.

Despite being 5 metric ponies and 50 newton meters down on the Mercedes, the 911 Turbo has a tremendous advantage in terms of curb weight. Porsche claims 1,640 kilograms (3,616 pounds), of which approximately 60 percent hangs over the rear axle, resulting in slightly better launch traction.

Given the aforementioned, the six-cylinder sports car makes easy work of the heavier one from a dig. The chronometer indicates 18.9 seconds for the standing kilometer in the 911's case, whereas the Merc put up a good fight, clocking 20.2 seconds.

What if the runway stretches a bit more than a kilometer? Unfortunately for the guys and gals in Affalterbach, the Zuffenhausen machine has a higher top speed. As opposed to 320 kilometers per hour (199 miles per hour) for the 911, the GT 63 Coupe is rated at 315 clicks (196 miles per hour).

While both are scary fast, one could argue that the 911 Turbo is the more exotic of the two. From the engine configuration to its location and the 60-year-old history of the Neunelfer, the coupe-bodied GT simply does not come anywhere close to it. Worse still, the 2025 Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe can be had with a four-cylinder mill displacing 2.0 liters.

Porsche made the same mistake back in the 1960s – and briefly in the 1970s – with the four-cylinder 912. Think of it as the entry-level sibling of the 911, powered by either a Volkswagen Type 4 air-cooled boxer or a Porsche-developed four-pot boxer.