BMW M135i Drag Races AMG A35 Again, Defeat Is Shocking

We are, of course, talking about the BMW M135i and Mercedes-AMG A35. Both of them have AWD and 2-liter turbo engines with 306 horsepower. With both automakers now making a variety of such cars, including four-door coupes and crossovers, it almost feels like nothing is special. It's not BMW's fault that people weren't buying the six-cylinder M140i, but this does feel like everybody is milking this cash cow dry.

They're not cheap cars either, and with the rise of SUVs and EVs, only a small group of motorists are interested. So BMW and Mercedes will fight over every customer. Perhaps it's no coincidence that these two models try to overcompensate by having flashy wings and spoilers.

Correct us if we're wrong, but these two have drag raced a couple of times already. Both times, the BMW won, which we attributed to its higher torque output. However, it always seemed like the performance gap was tiny, and with automatic gearboxes, not even the driver can make much of a difference.

Another drag race, this time from South Africa, shows completely different results. The AMG wins by a nose. The reaction times could play a part here, but don't explain why the A35 is coming up from behind. On the other hand, the 13.42 quarter-mile time it got is faster than anything previously registered.

So, maybe you should remember the outcome of this race as much as the reality that it could go either way in the real-world. Maybe these companies should be less concerned with selling high-profit models and just have something special from time to time, like Ford did we the Focus RS.