Anyone that’s up to speed with the specs of the cars listed above would be tempted to say that there should be an obvious winner in case they go up against each other, right? Well, real-life conditions and drivers might prove you wrong, and the video below shows us exactly why the numbers claimed by manufacturers don’t represent what happens in reality.
What we have here is a clear example of how engineering and putting down the power in any type of weather is more important than bragging rights or simple numbers on a piece of paper.
All the cars here except one are rear-wheel drives and all of them are racing on a damp track, and that brings out the traction issue that everyone is so afraid of. The RC F, M4 and GT4 are all RWD and the way they manage to put down the torque will make the difference, as well as the driver, of course.
Then there’s the i8, the car with the lowest horsepower rating and the smallest engine by comparison, but all-wheel drive. To be more precise, the hybrid plug-in sports car uses a 1.5-liter 3-cylinder internal combustion engine for the rear axle, together with an electric motor that feeds the front axle, making this an all-wheel drive car.
The M4 has a 3-liter turbocharged engine that delivers torque like there’s no tomorrow, from down low, this being the reason why it’s terribly easy to light up your rear tires from a standing start. However, as we learned during our time with the car, using launch control improves your chances to limit this phenomenon. And yes, we did try it on moist (it was actually raining that day) asphalt.
The RC F, on the other hand, is holding the torch up for old-school naturally aspirated V8s, and since it has a decent amount of torque to keep in check (530 Nm or 391 lb-ft) and plenty of weight on the rear axle, it does hold up its tail pretty high in this contest.
Last but definitely not least, we have a Porsche Cayman GT4 that comes with a naturally aspirated engine as well, but this time it’s a flat six good for 385 HP. It’s also the only manual in this contest and things are bound to get interesting real soon.
Which do you think will win the race? According to the 0-62 mph (100 km/h) times offered by the manufacturers, the BMW M4 should win it with 4.1 seconds, followed by the rest of the platoon, all of them rated at an even 4.4 seconds. Real life results are seldom what you’d expect and this is no exception. Let’s check it out.
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