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BMW i8 Takes On Audi RS3 and Range Rover Sport SVR, Proves Hybrids Are Fast

Yesterday, we showed you that the hyper hybrid hatchback currently being developed by Peugeot is faster than the Audi RS3... by a lot. But there are plug-in cars that you can buy today if you want to humiliate the quattro boys.
BMW i8 Takes On Audi RS3 and Range Rover Sport SVR, Proves Hybrids Are Fast 1 photo
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
We are talking about the BMW i8. It's not exactly inconspicuous, arriving at every party with its doors up. That's why nobody is going to be stupid enough to race it. But the 1.5-liter engine that powers the i8 is tiny and underpowered when compared to the 367 PS turbo monster under the hood of the RS3. So electricity really does make everything faster.

Looking at the specs, it's not easy to understand why the BMW won so convincingly. The i8 boasts 362 PS, slightly less than the Audi. It weighs 35 kilograms less due to the CFRP construction, but from 0 to 100 km/h, it's slower by 0.1 of a second (4.4 vs 4.3).

Just to make things weird, the guys that organized this race also brought 2.4 tons of racing SUV. So what can a 550 horsepower SUV do that's so impressive? After all, the BMW X5 M is better. Well, Land Rover say their fastest ever SUV just went around the Nurburgring in 8 minutes and 14 seconds.

“It is the first of our Performance Shootout 2016 drag race battles. As the first Audi RS3 has landed, we immediately took it on our annual Performance Shootout. It is lighter than the Range Rover Sport SVR, but not as light as BMW’s i8,
” says Car Magazine South Africa.

While the i8 can't keep up with a Tesla Model S, it's certainly no slouch. Clearly, BMW underrated its car on purpose. But we can't ignore the fact that it costs about twice as much as the RS3 and has less space.

If only Land Rover made a hybrid SUV designed for speed, not efficiency. Give it 700 horsepower and watch Kim Kardashian pick up drag racing as a hobby!

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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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