Drag race: Audi e-tron Sportback vs Audi Q7 V12 TDI

It’s the law of the jungle, isn’t it? Young buck comes along to challenge powerful old stager. New tech takes on traditional methods. Basically, this drag race is Rocky IV, but with our very own Mat Watson running things instead of Brigitte Nielsen.

In this case, the flashy young newcomer is the Audi e-tron Sportback 55 Sportback, which has two electric motors, four-wheel drive and 408hp. Oh, and the not-inconsiderable matter of 664Nm of torque. As with most full EVs, the e-tron Sportback has a single-speed transmission, so you don’t need to worry about gearshifts – just tromp on the accelerator and go.

But hold on, you can almost hear the musclebound old Audi Q7 V12 TDI sneering at those figures. That’s because it has a twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre V12 diesel motor up front, which generates 500hp and no less than 1000Nm of torque. Surely that’s enough to make the world spin backwards if used injudiciously.

The Q7 drives all four wheels through a conventional six-speed automatic gearbox.

Foregone conclusion? Perhaps not, because while the e-tron Sportback weighs a more-than-portly 2520kg, the Q7 tips the scales at a decidedly lardy 2635kg.

So, which do you reckon will come out on top? The middleweight with the electric responses, or the slightly flabby warhorse with a punch that can knock down walls?

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