Track Battle Between BMW M 1000 RR Superbike and M3 Competition Looks Mental

Here's another one that seems never to find a straight answer: "what is quicker around the track, a sports car or a sports bike?" Well, there's a reason nobody ventures to offer a definitive answer, and that's because there are so many variables that you can't squeeze all scenarios under one umbrella.

How can you make the comparison fair, or at least relevant? Do you go for similar power-to-weight ratios on both vehicles? In that case, the car would simply smash the bike because the latter tend to have a 1:2 ratio (roughly 1:1 if we're talking metric system), and that's the sort of numbers you usually associate with the most extreme hypercars if any cars at all.

How do you do it, then? You probably can't, which is the main reason why the question will never get closure. On the flip side, though, the good news is that, as long as there's still mystery around this conundrum, we'll get the occasional clip featuring two exciting representatives from each class of vehicles trying to give us their version of the truth.

Here, we have an in-family competition between two BMW models. One is the first-ever BMW Motorrad product to wear the famous M badge, and it couldn't have been on any other bike than the insane 1000 RR. BMW's magic letter brings carbon wheels, special winglets, and, presumably, a paint scheme reminiscent of the M logo. In terms of performance, the BMW M 1000 RR has 205 hp and a curb weight of 423 lbs (191 kg), giving it a metric power-to-weight ratio larger than one.

Its opponent can only dream of that, but it has other things going for it. It's the brand-new M3 Competition, the latest iteration of the most iconic M model, and grille aside, its best so far. It gets 503 hp from its twin-turbo straight-six engine, but with a weight of 3,890 lbs (1,764 kg), it's miles off the bike when it comes to power-to-weight ratio. However, it does have a very important advantage: double the number of wheels that get the power and double the number of wheels that can brake.

Since this is a staged event organized by BMW, don't expect to see any actual racing. Instead, they focused on getting the most spectacular shots and making sure both vehicles are presented in a favorable light. While we would have preferred to find out which of the two was actually the quickest, we can settle for a nice, short, action-packed clip just as well.