Earlier today, we gave you a three-way drag race involving the 2016 Camaro SS and a pair of German rivals that seemed to be balanced. Well, we're back on the straight line shenanigan topic, but this time, we'll throw balance right out the electric window, bringing you a brawl that involves a Porsche 911 GT3 RS PDK and a Mercedes-Benz SL600.
The beauty of this velocity fight, which sees the Zuffenhausen track tool duking it out with a V12-powered grand tourer for over one decade ago, sits in the sheer absurdity of the battle.
The Rennsport Neunelfer is your "typical" Lava Orange machine, coming in 100 percent stock condition. As for the Benz, this may not have any Affalterbach assets to help in the fight against the Porscha, but the 6.0-liter engine under its long hood does come with an ECU remap.
As an interesting coincidence, the V12, in stock form, delivers the same 500 hp output as the 4.0-liter naturally-aspirated flat-six of the GT3 RS. In the torque department, though, the 339 lb-ft (460 Nm) of the rear-engined coupe are blown away by the twin-turbo might of the SL (read: 590 lb-ft/800 Nm).
But let's not forget about the gearbox battle, where the seamless shifts of the 911's PDK are at the opposite end of the blitz scale when compared to the slushbox of the Mercedes.
The two slabs of Germany recently met on an airfield, with the result being visible in the piece of footage at the bottom of the page. According to the uploader of the clip, the guy behind the wheel of the Porsche gave the SL a bit of a head start on purpose.
Nevertheless, we wouldn't jump to conclusions - for instance, a glance at the screenshots to your right might convince one the outcome of the race is predictable. But we weren't kidding when we mention the grand tourer packing a surprise...
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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