An interesting drag race brought together three cars from different classes that have one thing in common: injecting drivers with a large dose of adrenaline.
The first contender is the beastly Mercedes-AMG G63, a 2.5-ton (~5,500 lbs) weighing super SUV with good off-road capabilities that packs a 585 PS (577 hp / 430 kW) and 850 Nm (627 lb-ft) 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8.
Watch: Mercedes-AMG G63 Proclaimed The Most Desirable Big SUV In The World
Sitting in the middle is the Seat Leon Cupra R ST, with a small boost in power from ABT. The Spanish sporty compact estate has a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that develops 350 PS (345 hp / 257 kW) and 440 Nm (325 lb-ft) of torque. That’s a 50 PS (49 hp / 37 kW) and 40 Nm (30 lb-ft) increase over the standard model.
The Audi RS3 Sportback on the far end slots right in the middle in terms of power. Its meaty 2.5-liter, turbocharged five-cylinder produces 400 PS (394 hp / 294 kW) and 480 Nm (354 lb-ft) of torque. All three have all-wheel drive systems and automatic transmissions, but the two compact models are about 1 ton (~2,200 lbs) lighter, which levels the playing field a bit.
The tests included a standing and a couple of rolling drag races, in Comfort mode, from 50 mph (80 km/h). Surprisingly, there was one clear winner in all three cases, which also bagged the brake test from 70 mph (113 km/h). So, did the most expensive and powerful one win?