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Porsche Panamera Turbo Drag Races BMW 750i Because Big Boys Can Have Fun Too

The Porsche Panamera must have sat back and watched the new 911 Turbo S have all the fun, ruing the fact the automotive gods decided it would be a larger limousine/GT hybrid instead of a light and nimble sports car.
Porsche Panamera Turbo S vs BMW 750i drag race 8 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
Porsche Panamera Turbo S vs BMW 750i drag racePorsche Panamera Turbo S vs BMW 750i drag racePorsche Panamera Turbo S vs BMW 750i drag racePorsche Panamera Turbo S vs BMW 750i drag racePorsche Panamera Turbo S vs BMW 750i drag racePorsche Panamera Turbo S vs BMW 750i drag racePorsche Panamera Turbo S vs BMW 750i drag race
But then it caught a glimpse of its behind in a mirror and, after the few seconds you need to decipher the flipped text, had an epiphany: it too was a Turbo. Granted, not a Turbo S, but the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 under its hood was still good for a hefty 550 PS (542 hp) and 568 lb-ft (770 Nm) of torque.

Not only that, but it also had an all-wheel-drive system that enabled it to sprint off the line with similar agility to that shown by the 911 Turbo S, helped in no small measure by the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission as well. It wasn't a car built for drag racing, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a car that could drag race.

The tricky part was finding a similar opponent. It turns out that, at least on paper, the BMW 750i is an almost perfect match, even though they don't have quite the same body styles or target audience. The large Bimmer also packs a twin-turbo V8, except its powerplant is a 4.4-liter unit. However, the extra displacement doesn't translate into more power, with the BMW trailing the Porsche by 20 hp in that department.

The gap stays the same for the torque value as well (in Nm, 15 for lb-ft). Everything else - transmission, weight - is virtually identical, which means it might all come down to driver skill. Well, despite the fact there are only minor differences, there is one key aspect where the Porsche has an important advantage: acceleration.

On their way to 62 miles per hour (100 km/h), the Panamera Turbo will watch 3.8 seconds go by, whereas the 750i xDrive needs four seconds flat. That doesn't sound like a massive distance between the two, but bear in mind this is Porsche, a company known for holding back on the official figures compared to its vehicles' real-world performance.

Without spoiling the result too much, we'll just say the race isn't as close as the numbers suggest, despite the best efforts of one of the drivers who seems to have a tendency to fall asleep just before the race start. Either way, eleven-second runs for both cars is an impressive result for two models that also offer such high levels of luxury and comfort.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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