Nissan GT-R Drag Races Vauxhall Astra Sleeper, Dreams Are Shattered

For instance, showing up at the drag strip in a stock GT-R means you have serious chances of being left trailing in the wake of tuner cars, which will hunt you down.

Perhaps the driver of the Nissan halo car that brought us here considered he was safe, since his toy had been tuned. Nevertheless, it's worth mentioning that this GT-R only packs entry-level mods, delivering 690 ponies.

The Japanese toy visited the Santa Pod Raceway in the UK, where it was challenged to a duel by one hell of a sleeper. We're talking about a second-generation Vauxhall (yes, it's not an Opel, but its British twin) Astra, the kind that entered production in the mid 80s.

The compact had maintained its FWD nature and while it does pack a racing setup, which involves fat drag tires up front and skinny tires at the back, battling the all-paw GT-R during the initial phase of the race still seems extreme.

The video showcasing the race mentions this Astra started out in life as the GTE, which was the hot(ish) version of the hatchback. However, the Vauxhall now allows the driver to play with a monstrous 750 horsepower.

So, if you would like to place any bets, now would be a proper time to do so - the clip below also includes the 1/4-mile numbers of the two, so you'll easily be able to tell who got the laurels.