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Although the BMW M240i and Audi RS3 are not direct competitors, who said that a drag race required equally competitive vehicles? Bavaria’s sports coupe challenged Ingolstadt’s famous Quattro in the matchup. It’s dressed as the xDrive model in an effort to reduce the gap between the two. The straight-line acceleration test was conducted on a Saldanha airport runway in South Africa.
Despite having a larger engine, the inline-five Audi RS3 Sedan has marginally more power than the M Performance variant of the BMW 2 Series Coupe. The M240i has a 26-hp disadvantage over the small sedan toting the Four Rings, with 374 horsepower supplied. Both offer a generous 500 Nm (369 lb-ft). However, the BMW’s peak torque arrives somewhat sooner (1,900 rpm vs 2,250 rpm).
Weight is another significant difference between the two vehicles. This is because the M240i weighs 1,690 kilograms (3,726 pounds), 115 kg (254 lbs) more than the RS3 Sedan. Both vehicles have automatic transmissions. However, the BMW is an eight-speed torque converter, and the Audi is a seven-speed dual-clutch.
The M240i driver’s response at the start of the drag race should have been far better since he delayed pushing the car aggressively. As a result, the RS3 launched noticeably faster. With a time of 12 seconds or four-tenths of a second faster than the BMW, the Audi was able to maintain its advantage. With a better start for the M240i, we believe the margin would have been considerably less (if it existed).
Since launching the M240i, BMW has added the M2 G87 and a rear-wheel-drive version of their “M Lite” 2er to the portfolio of 2 Series Coupes. Although the top-of-the-line vehicle only comes in RWD, rumours suggest that an xDrive variant may be in the works. That would compete favourably in a drag race against the RS3.
