A New Edge Mustang and a BMW M3 Walk Into a Drag Race, Someone Loses Big

Known as the SN-95, they rolled off the assembly line in Dearborn, Michigan, between 1999 and 2004, in two body styles, with several powertrain options. Depending on the model year, the latter category included V6 and V8 units, mated to manual or automatic transmissions.

Around the same time, BMW came up with the E46 generation of the M3, with a 3.2-liter straight-six, pumping out 338 horsepower, mated to a six-speed manual or the less-desirable six-speed SMG. But why the BMW reference? That’s because the two met at the drag strip just recently, although the German model was not an E46, but a more modern F80.

As a result, it boasts 431 HP from the straight-six mill, taking 4.1 seconds to accelerate from naught to 60 mph (0-96 kph), with the equivalent M4 Coupe being just as fast.

Now, there’s no way of knowing whether this particular example has embraced its tuned side, but it does go like a bat out of hell. Moreover, we do not know if the New Edge Mustang hides a big secret under the hood or not, yet it rocks racing slicks for quicker takeoffs, which translates into faster quarter-mile runs.

Still, is that enough to help it beat the more modern Bimmer or does it need some (more?) work in the engine department? Only one way to find out, and that’s by clicking the play button on the video that follows (or viewing the pics in the gallery if you feel like cheating). By the way, one of them completed the 1/4-mile in almost 11.7 seconds, whereas the other did a 12.3.