Can a turbocharged Mazda MX-5 NA compete with a BMW E46 M3 and a Jaguar XE S on a straight line?
Of course it can, and that’s why the Car Throttle guys decided to pit them against each other to see which one of the three drivers will be the most embarrassed at the end of the day.
The most interesting aspect of this unusual drag race is arguably between the German and the British entry, mainly to see how the old M3 holds up to the new XE S, given that both cars offer the same amount -give or take- of horses under their bonnets.
And then throw between them everyone’s favorite cheap hero car, in this case a Mazda MX-5 NA with the 1.8-litre engine and a snail. Can you make safe assumptions out of this drag race? Of course you can’t.
With patches of water everywhere on the tarmac compromising the scientific value of this exercise and the three drivers using every racing excuse they could remember, this race is not going to settle any scores. Who cares though, this looks fun as hell.