BMW and Audi are rivals, with their battles best fought on the race track. A new video pits two affordable fun cars – the Audi RS3 and BMW M240i – against each other in an all-wheel-drive drag race.
Powering the BMW is the company’s tried-and-true turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six engine. It produces a stout 382 horsepower (285 kilowatts) and 368 pound-feet (500 Newton-meters) of torque. Power routes through the eight-speed automatic transmission to the car’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system, leveling the playing field with the more potent all-wheel-drive Audi.
Gallery: 2022 Audi RS3: First Drive
The RS3 features Audi’s smaller turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder. The unique engine makes 394 hp (294 kW), a bit more than the BMW, but it makes the same torque. Audi has one less cog in its gearbox, with a seven-speed dual-clutch channeling power to the Quattro all-wheel-drive system.
The video shows the pair competing in a drag race down an airstrip. Both cars got a solid start off the line; however, the two don’t stay even for long. The hard-launching Audi slowly began to pull away as soon as the race started, putting distance between it and the purple BMW. It’s a lead the Audi retained through to the finish line. It completed the quarter-mile race in 12.0 seconds, while the BMW needed 12.4 to cross the line, so it wasn’t that far behind.
While the M240i is a potent performance car, it’s not the ultimate version of the 2 Series. That’d be the M2, which features a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter engine making 453 hp (333 kW) and 406 lb-ft (550 Nm) of torque, far more than the RS3. The automatic-equipped model can sprint to 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in 3.9 seconds. M2 production began last month, so a rematch with the Audi should be in the future.
The Audi RS3 and BMW M240i are traction monsters, making them formidable racing opponents. But side-by-side, the differences in performance are easier to spot. The RS3 is a tad more powerful, but we imagine it would have its work cut out for it if it lined up against the M2.
