The RS6 can't drift, can't run in pure electric mode and won't turn heads like a BMW i8. But it does speed about as well as modern supercars. So the guys at Carfection wondered whether Ingolstadt's best could out-gun another supercar-hunting specialist, the venerable Nissan GT-R.
On paper, the GT-R should have the Audi beaten. It has launch control where the quattro car doesn't and doesn't have a wagon tail to lug around.
Remember, this isn't one of those crazy Russian drag race videos where everything is tuned to a million horsepower. Both of these are completely stock press cars. What's more, we're not dealing with the RS6 performance, as Carfection quotes the 4.0-liter V8 as having "553bhp," otherwise known as 560 PS.
On the other hand, the GT-R is the latest 2017 model with 570 PS. Only the Nismo would have been faster, but not by much. Yet it seems that Mister Tsunami Ooyama, the Takumi responsible for this particular twin-turbo V6.
On paper, the GT-R should win every drag race, but out of the three tries they had, Carfection found the RS6 to be the winner. And the numbers just don't back that up. There's about a second separating their 0 to 62 times, not to mention the 200 kilograms of extra weight.
The guys seem to think that the GT-R will show its true colors during a full lap. But give the RS6 its performance goodies, including more power and a limited slip diff, and you might find the competition is uncomfortably close. Audi is far from being shamed. Oh, you might also want to consider the ceramic brakes for this 2-ton Goliath that likes to blitz straights.
While we can't fully accept the conclusion of this drag race, there is a conclusion that can be drawn: for fast, heavy cars, the twin-turbo 4-liter is the engine of the moment. You're going to have one of those in the Lamborghini Urus as well, and it will be interesting to see it drag racing the GT-R too.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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