Initially, this race between two BMW SUVs and an Audi sedan should have looked different, incorporating a completely different body type in exchange for one of the Bavarian cars. Now, the drag race idea was to pit three AWD cars against each other, so technically they kept the premise. But only barely, because one of the vehicles was just a tiny bit modified.
We have seen our fair share of odd pairings. So, we are not that surprised when seeing a 2019 Audi RS3 sedan compete against a 2020 BMW X3M Competition and 2020 BMW X6M50i. After all, those looking for the spotlight have even pitted cars against jet fighters... Getting two BMWs to gang up on an Audi is nothing that does not happen in real life as well.
Interestingly, the video (embedded below) from YouTube channel Track Day is not going to be singular – it's part of a greater challenge that will see groups of cars divided into separate categories based on their choice of traction. After that, they will have the victors go against each other to ascertain the overall champion.
For now, the AWD section contenders were the RS3, the X3M Competition, and the X6 M50i. In our opinion, they didn’t do a good job at evening out the odds, based solely on a mathematical standpoint.
More precisely, while the host explains each car’s specifications, he also gives up the power-to-weight ratio – and this is where the winner emerges crystal clear. Starting with the Audi RS3, the Ingolstadt-based performance sedan comes with a nine to one ratio, and to help things a little bit, it’s also treated to higher octane fuel.
Next should be the X3M Competition, but we’re going to leave it last and talk about the elephant in the group, the X6 M50i. It’s the largest and heaviest, so it naturally loses this fight with a 9.91 to one ratio. And, finally, the X3M Competition comes to snatch the win – there's no spoiler in telling you that – with a power to weight ratio of 8.3 to one.
It would have been even better, because the SUV also reached this drag race with a tune – bringing its total power to around 600-wheel horsepower (about 650 hp to the crank). But, as they tried to even up the playing field, they added five adults on board to increase the weight a little.
Still, the X3M came out (overall) victorious after three consecutive drag races – run one and two were done rolling to extract the 30 to 135 mph values (48 to 217 kph), while the third leg was an all-out acceleration galore from 0 to 140 mph (0 to 225 kph).
By the way, in the end, due to some driver fatigue that made the X3 fall asleep for the final race, the Audi RS3 actually came very close in the overall standings (they got two points per victory, one point for second place).
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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