Ever since the BMW i8 came out, a lot of people rushed to compare it to a Porsche 911. Truth be told, they might’ve been enticed to do so by BMW themselves that promoted their car as a perfect rival for the Swabian and the Audi R8 amongst others.
However, anyone that has ever driven a Porsche 911 knows that simply isn’t the case. Sure, the i8 is an impressive, eco-friendly machine that essentially shows us the future today but it’s still not as track-capable as its claimed rival.
To add to that mix-up, the rear end of the Bimmer does look like it’s giving birth to a Porsche. We’re just saying that the comparison is rather justified at times.
One tuned BMW i8 showed up at a drag racing event earlier this year, wearing Manhart’s bits and pieces that seemingly included a device that flips your front license plate. We don’t think that the German tuner was behind this creation though.
After wowing the crowd with its looks, the i8 proceeded to do the same with its performance. For some reason, the owner decided to drag race cars that are supposedly considerably more capable on the 1/4 strip.
The first car challenged was a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG W204. That thing has a 6.2-liter V8 under its bonnet making 457 HP and 600 Nm (443 lb-ft) of torque and is capable of reaching 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 4.5 seconds.
That means it has an internal combustion engine that’s more than four times bigger than the equivalent inside the BMW. Of course, the i8 also has an electric engine to help out, taking its total combined power up to 362 HP and 570 Nm (420 lb-ft) of torque. It also has all-wheel drive at its disposal, and a claimed sprint to 100 km/h (62 mph) of 4.4 seconds.
On the other hand, the second challenge should’ve been a closer match. We’re talking about a Porsche 911 GT3 (997) that used to be the tip the spearhead of the company’s line-up back in the day.
The engine powering this thing is a 3.6-liter boxer 6-cylinder beast making 415 HP and 405 Nm (299 lb-ft) of torque. The GT3 is claimed to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.3 seconds but it depends heavily on the driver as it has a manual 6-speed gearbox.
So, what was the outcome? Well, we won’t divulge anything but let’s just say that the BMW driver didn’t even need both of his hands... You’ll get what we’re talking about in a second.
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