While certain drivers might argue that drag races are pointless, there are plenty of such straight-line battles that make full sense, especially when willing to pit competing cars against each other.
However, certain drag brawls bring more practical results than others and we're here to talk about one whose effects have nothing to do with the real world.
That's the only conclusion you can come to when coming across a drag strip involving a Ford Fiesta ST and a Land Rover Defender.
We'll start with the Blue Oval machine and we have to mention that this isn't the 2018 Fiesta ST. Instead, we're dealing the now-retired incarnation of the spicy subcompact (here's a review of the 180 hp Fiesta for those willing to grab one now that the prices are becoming sweeter).
Nevertheless, there are plenty of reasons to stick around, most of which have to do with the hopelessly impractical nature of this race. You see, the Top Gear stunt we're looking at pits the Fiesta against a Defender that has been reinvented by British specialist Bowler.
As such, the engine compartment of the offroader has left behind its factory oil burner, welcoming another engine from the Jaguar Land Rover family. We're referring to the supercharged 3.0-liter V6 of the F-Type. Delivering 400 ponies in the trim seen here, the unit gifts the pickup truck Defender with unbelievable sprinting abilities.
The brawl involved as little technology as possible - we're looking at a human Christmas Tree, with the guy at the starting line simply shouting the instructions out.
In theory, the four-wheel-drive nature of the Bowler Defender V6 should turn this into a rolling start drag race. However, in the TG realm, we see the Fiesta being left to deal with the ordeal of a front-wheel-drive take-off. Have you brought the mandatory popcorn?
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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