Drag racing videos have recently been taking YouTube by storm in the automotive genre. Regardless of if you’ve seen Carwow’s series, Hoonigan’s This vs That, or the many others on offer, it’s clear that we petrolheads love a good heads up drag race. Thankfully, Mat Watson from Carwow has delivered another straight-line sprint to satiate our needs.
The competitors include the Audi S3, Mercedes-AMG A35, and BMW M135i. So before we talk about the video let’s do the numbers – which are all incredibly similar. While all of the vehicles have turbocharged 2.0-liter engines, automatic gearboxes, and all-wheel drive, the only big differences lie in the power numbers; the Audi is the most powerful at 310 horsepower (231.1 kilowatts) while its German compatriots both have 306 hp (228.1 kW) each.
After a very disappointing exhaust soundcheck, the race proves to be just as close as the performance figures; the Audi came up first, with the BMW and Mercedes finishing in that order. From a standing start, the S3 leaped into the lead and utilized its superior power and traction to its advantage.
Along with its Quattro all-wheel-drive system propelling it to an easy victory, the clever Audi has another trick up its sleeve; its gearbox upshifts for you even in manual-mode, which could prove to be very annoying in different track scenarios, but does prevent any chance of a missed shift.
Even from a rolling start where traction isn’t as important, the spritely S3 kept calm and carried on to victory. The real difference came in the braking test where the BMW gained its one and only win – it took the Mercedes by less than half a car-length. Regardless of whether you still think the Bimmer is the ultimate driving machine, the Audi produced a clear overall victory.