All American-Muscle BMWs Line Up for a 1,470-HP Drag Race, You Won’t Believe Who Won

Someone recently said something along the lines of: "Formula Drift cars are drag machines that can also go sideways." That's how fast these vehicles have become in recent years. It's safe to assume that at the highest level, everyone is packing at least 800 horsepower.

And you'll often see cars with at least 1,000-hp. Most if not all of these machines are equipped with sequential gearboxes and sophisticated chassis upgrades, so it's no wonder that they have acceleration capabilities.

And today, we're going to see just how fast an FD car is, with a time attack vehicle serving as a benchmark. Nima Voss is the driver of the HGK Eurofighter, a BMW F22 2-Series that was built from the ground up with one goal in mind: ruling the drift arena!

Despite its name, this thing is powered by a Mast Motorsports LS7 that puts out a solid 800-hp! As you would expect, the gearbox used for this build is a Samsonas 6-speed sequential. Weight-wise, this is quite a light machine, all things considered, weighing in at 2,800 lbs (1,270 kg).

Both contenders are RWD, and both emit strong American Muscle vibes. Matt's 3-series is built using a supercharged LS2 engine, which means he only has access to 670-hp. With a T56 6-speed manual in place and with an extra 250 lbs (113 kg), it's not yet clear how this thing is going to hold up against the rather exotic Eurofighter.

Pre-race predictions also seem to favor the drift car, but there's only one way to find out which one is the fastest. As usual with the Hoonigan races, we're looking at a 1,000-ft (304 meters) head-to-head battle.

On the first run, the Eurofighter is off to a typical drift-car start: excessive wheelspin and a big cloud of tire smoke. Meanwhile, we see the benefits of running 345 tires on the back with the time-attack car. It's not as spectacular but a lot more efficient.

By the time the E36 crosses the finish line, the F22 is about two cars behind. Most of the time, with these Hoonigan challenges, the loser would usually ask for a small advantage during the starting procedure. But Nima just wants to get a fair re-run to see where he's at after a better launch.

If anything, it all goes even worse for the Formula Drift driver on the second run. The gap is even bigger than before. With that in mind, there's only one thing left to do for a more evenly-matched challenge: a rolling race!

Both cars go up to 30 mph (48 kph) by the time they reach the start line, and then we get to see a wide-open throttle to the finish line. We won't spoil the outcome of this third run for you, but we will tell you this: Nima's manji drifting at the end isn't meant as a celebration.