The guys over at Evo Magazine organized a top-class showdown between the best hot hatches of the moment: The MINI JCW GP, Audi A1 quattro, Ford Focus RS500 and the Renault Megane R26.R.
When talking about hot hatches it all comes down to power to weight ratio. Let's see the specs then. The Focus RS500 has a 2.5-liter 5-cylinder 350 HP engine with 460 Nm of torque so it's the most powerful but also the heaviest, weighing 1,467 kg.
The Renault Megane R26.R weighs only 1,220 kg and has a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine boasting 230 HP and 310 Nm of torque. The Audi A1 has a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with 256 HP and 350 Nm of torque but weighs 1,420 kg. However, the Audi is the only one with 4 wheel drive so it should have some sort of an advantage, especially since the track is moist.
The last one is the MINI JCW GP. This hot hatch weighs only 1,140 kg but it is also the least powerful of the bunch, having just 215 HP coming out of the 1.6-liter turbocharged engine and just 260 Nm of torque.
In the end, the MINI won, of course, by a slight margin, timing a 1:08.7 lap, 2 milliseconds faster than the Megane R26.R. This goes to prove, once again, that unlimited power is useless if you're not able to control it.
PS: The MINI proved it is the best hot hatch for the moment. Just look at Tiff's face when driving it... sure looks like a lot of fun!
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