Ford Mustang GT and BMW M3 Engage in Quarter-Mile Battle, Doesn't Go Well for One of Them

However, in this case, the grey example that you’re about to see putting its money where its mouth is against the new-gen BMW M3 doesn’t seem to sport that many mods, nor is it a Shelby. In fact, it is the normal Mustang GT, a V8-powered muscle car that has enough oomph for real-world driving, yet it is far from being a record-breaker in terms of straight-line performance.

When it left the factory floor, its naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 produced 450 horsepower and 410 pound-feet (556 Nm) of torque. The engine is hooked up to a six-speed manual transmission with rev matching as standard, or a ten-speed automatic as an option, and rear-wheel drive. The Mustang GT has joined the sub 4 seconds club a few years ago in terms of naught to 60 mph (0-97 kph) acceleration.

In the opposite corner, its ad-hoc rival’s twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six engine is about as powerful in the most humble offering, pushing out 473 hp and 406 lb-ft (550 Nm) of torque. The rear-wheel drive version does the 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in 4.1 seconds and tops out at 155 mph (250 kph), or 180 mph (290 kph) when had with the optional M Driver’s Package. At 503 hp and 479 lb-ft (650 Nm), the Competition brings more power to the table, dropping the sprint time by 0.3 seconds, and the xDrive all-wheel drive model can hit 60 mph in 3.4 seconds.

Now, do you think the Mustang GT is punchy enough in order to put the M3 in its corner? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s by scrolling down and hitting the play button to watch the video shot recently at the Orlando Speed World. The action starts at the 0:40 mark, and before that, you can see the same M3 race one bad Jeep Grand Cherokee.