They say that the first-ever drag race happened right after the second car was built. It's in our nature to compare things in life, and our curiosity must be satisfied. Comparing two cars can be a complicated process or a simple one, depending on how you want to approach things. And if you've got 60 seconds or less to make a decision, drag racing is the way to go. It won't reveal the full story, but it will give you a sense of the excitement and speed a vehicle can provide.
We are all unique in our way, and thus we will perceive things differently in life. To a professional driver, a hot hatchback might feel like a slow car. To an inexperienced one, it may feel more like a rocket on 4 wheels. So even though today's drag race doesn't feature any supercars, it's still exciting in its way.
We're looking at three similarly-powered vehicles, and they're all a result of German engineering. The BMW M240i is going up against an Audi RS 3 Sedan and a Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 S. In a way, you could call this an entry-level sports car battle.
At first glance, it can be pretty hard to predict the outcome of this race, so let's look at the specs of these cars first. The BMW features a turbocharged, 3.0-liter engine that's rated for just under 400 horsepower and some 368 lb-ft (500 Nm) of torque. Weighing in at 3,725 lbs (1,690 kg), the M240i should still be capable of going from a standstill to 60 mph (96 kph) in 4.1 seconds.
By comparison, the Audi RS 3 is slightly lighter at 3,472 lbs (1,575 kg). It has a turbocharged, five-cylinder, 2.5-liter engine that is slightly more powerful than the BMW's unit but has identical torque figures.
Photo: CarWow
The Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 S is the heaviest car here, albeit just by a few lbs when compared to the BMW. It also happens to run the smallest engine of the bunch, a turbocharged 2.0-liter unit. Still, we are talking about an AMG product, so performance figures are not to be taken lightly: 421 horsepower and 368 lb-ft of torque. All three contenders have the benefit of advanced automatic gearbox and AWD, but at this point, you'd be tempted to think that the Audi has the upper hand.
After a quick exhaust-note test and some skids to bring the tires up to temperature, it's time to move on with the main event: the quarter-mile (402 meters) drag race. The M240i is off to a great start, but the RS 3 isn't about to give up just yet. They're neck and neck across the finish line, but the BMW emerges victorious after the first run, while the Mercedes-AMG is stuck in last. The situation looks slightly different on the second run, and this time the Audi is the first to cross the finish line.
The third run reveals the same result, as the RS 3 once again takes the win, with a quarter-mile time of 11.9 seconds. The BMW finishes the run 0.3 seconds later, with the Mercedes-AMG requiring an additional 0.5 seconds for the same result.
The roll race provides an additional perspective to the challenge, and you might not have expected the heaviest car here to win the first run. But it's the BMW that gets the last laugh, as Mat Watson manages to win the brake test, the last one of the day.
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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