When BMW announced their newest M4 would be offered with all-wheel drive, many people were up in arms. Now, in their latest video, Throttle House drag races an M4 Competition with BMW‘s xDrive all-wheel drive system against the Audi RS5 and the Nissan GT-R, two vehicles well-known for their superb AWD performance.
Going from the most to the least powerful, the GT-R’s V6 churns out 565 hp (573 PS / 421 kW) and 467 lb-ft (633 Nm) of torque, the M4 XDrive’s straight-six makes 503 hp (510 PS / 375 kW) and 479 lb-ft (650 Nm) of torque, and the RS5’s V6 delivers 444 hp (450 PS / 331 kW) and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque. And in terms of weight, the order remains the same, so the GT-R should win with ease, right?
See Also: How Does A Ford Mustang Shelby Super Snake Compare To A Dodge Challenger Demon?
Come the drag race, the M4 and RS5 surprisingly got the jump on the GT-R off the line, and even more surprising was that they were neck and neck with each other during that launch. However, after that, the M4 and GT-R took off from the RS5, and the M4 crossed the finish line first. For the roll race, things were a bit more predictable as none of the cars had superior launches to make up for subpar speed. Thus, the GT-R finished first, followed by the M4, then the RS5.
However, Throttle House had something else up their sleeve to make up for the RS5’s shortcomings, and that something was the ABT RS5-R. This car boosts the regular RS5’s output to 523 hp (530 PS / 390 kW) and 508 lb-ft (680 Nm) of torque, so the reasoning was that it’d fare better against the BMW and the Nissan. Unfortunately, though, while it took the lead at the launch, it still finished behind the other two in the end.