There has been a growing concern around the world regarding the development of front-wheel drive cars and manual gearboxes. These two have been regarded as pariahs on the track in the last couple of years, but they do seem to be making a comeback.
Cars like the Megane RS Trophy, SEAT Leon Cupra ST 280 and especially the new Honda Civic Type-R are responsible for this new development. They proved that with a brilliant front differential you can challenge cars that have a better pedigree, more power and less traction on tracks such as the Nurburgring.
The recent rivalry that sought the fastest front-wheel drive car in the world on the famous German track showed us that dipping under the 8-minute mark is possible. Now more videos of the FWD trio are surfacing, showing their prowess on the circuit.
One of the latest involves a SEAT Leon Cupra ST 280 and a BMW E36 M3. To get a better grasp of the differences at hand here, let’s take a look at the specs they have.
The thing is, we can’t really tell which version of the E36 M3 we’re dealing with here as, towards the end of its production, the M car received a new engine. We’re talking about the 3.2-liter S50B32 engine built after the Germans finished developing the McLaren F1 supercar and learning a thing or two.
The inline 6-cylinder engine now made 321 HP and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque and transformed the E36 M3 into the first street-legal BMW with more than 100 HP per liter.
With a weight of 1,460 kg (3,218 lbs), the car was pretty fast back in the day, doing 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill in 5.4 seconds. It’s still a force to be reckoned with on the track to this day.
On the other hand, we have a car built in 2015, front-wheel drive and with a turbocharged 2-liter inline-4 engine. We’re talking about the recently reviewed Cupra ST 280, of course.
It has 280 HP and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) to rely on and judging by the video, it’s also a manual 6-speed model which means it will reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 6.1 seconds.
The record was set with a DSG-equipped model though and it seems like the Leon ST went around the Nordschleife in 7:58:12, faster that the hatchback version.
Judging by what we see here, we don’t find that hard to believe anyway. Just watch how the two overtake Porsches, Lancers and other supposedly faster cars on the track.
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