BMW X4 M40i Drag Races Porsche Macan Turbo in Thick Fog With a Surprising Result

The fact SUVs have gotten pretty darn fast helps with that a bunch. They earned their drag racing legitimacy the moment one of these vehicles killed a sports car on the track, and we've seen countless situations like that in the past. Hell, we've even seen a Tesla Model X beat an Alfa Romeo 4C with the former towing a second Alfa Romeo 4C. Case closed.

Here, though, we have two German models of a significantly more diminutive size: we're looking at the compact BMW X4 M40i and Porsche Macan Turbo in their European specifications. Both vehicles are 2018 models and they both run on winter tires, which is somewhat fitting considering the air temperature at the time of the race was 3 degrees Celsius (37.4 Fahrenheit).

On paper, the race is pretty skewed toward one of the competitors. We're talking about the Porsche Macan Turbo with its 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 engine that, thanks to the Performance Package, develops 440 PS (434 hp) and hits 62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.4 seconds. It is slightly heavier, but 220 lbs (100 kg) don't usually account for much when you have 442 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque.

The BMW X4 M40i, on the other hand, brings its turbocharged three-liter straight-six engine to the fight, but the in-line unit only develops 360 PS (355 hp). However, thanks to a Stage 1 tune, the output is now pushed to 410 hp - still considerably less power than the Porsche has, but it's not the first time we've seen a BMW win a race from the underdog position.

And, depending on how you want to look at it, the BMW did win. Thanks to better reaction times - and even jumping the start in one of the races - the X4 actually manages to be the first to cross the line every time, but will the Dragy data confirm the Bavarian as the winner? While you wonder about that, allow us to tell you about the Porsche 911 GT3 RS that also shows up to race the winner. Answers and entertainment in the video below.