BMW X3 M Drag Races Jaguar F-Pace SVR, Results Are Shocking

The high-performance CUV market is kind of strange in that everybody has a unique engine. the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 is the only one with a twin-turbo 4-liter V8. Alfa gives you a 2.9-liter V6 which is like 3/4 of a Ferrari engine and BMW has its iconic inline 3-liter configuration.

Meanwhile, Jaguar went ballistic with a supercharged 5-liter V8. The decision is kind of logical, as the F-Pace doesn't have any bigger brothers and the 5.0 was their best performance engine. But the benefit of huge displacement is big output numbers. It has about 40 more horsepower than the BMW X3 M Competition with torque to match.

Weight is obviously going to favor the German model, which is probably the lightest in its class. Now, superchargers are supposed to be good at launches, since they deliver their boost at low revs, and that's precisely what we see here. But the X3 M catches up and ends the quarter-mile race with a small lead.

For a while, it was rumored that Jaguar was going to borrow BMW engines, including the 4.4-liter V8 to replace its 5-liter. That would obviously make the F-Pace faster, but it probably isn't the change they want.

Not only does the new F-Type Coupe/Roadster still have the same 5-liter, but the R version just got a power bump of about 25 hp. Come 2020, there's going to be an F-Pace SVR refresh with 575 hp, and then the outcome of this drag race could look rather different. But since the X3 M is going to be the best selling M car, it should get more hardcore versions too.