Drag race: Audi RS e-tron GT vs Mercedes-AMG E63 S

Normally, if you’re putting a V8-engined AMG-badged car into a drag race you’d expect it to win. This one might be a bit different, though, as this one is petrol versus electric…

In the gas-guzzling corner, we have the king of the autobahn; the mighty Mercedes-AMG E63S. Thanks to its growling, snarling 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, it develops a massive 612hp. Added to which, there’s 4MATIC four-wheel drive and launch control to help get it off the line. As we say, normally you’d put your money on the AMG.

However, in the saintly, green corner, presumably surrounded by thankful polar bears sundry tree huggers, sits the all-electric Audi RS e-Tron GT. It may have no CO2 figure, but this planet-saving electric car is not short of horsepower.

In fact, dial it up to maximum and it develops a massive 646hp from its twin electric motors. Those motors give it four-wheel drive, in the Audi quattro tradition, and of course electric motors develop peak torque as soon as you press the pedal, so it’s going to get off the line like the world’s turning backwards.

A slam-dunk for the more powerful Audi? Well, maybe not. The power and performance of an electric motor tends to wane as the speed rises, added to which the Mercedes has a distinct weight advantage — 2,010kg compared to 2,340kg for the Audi.

So which is it going to be? The big, gargling V8? Or the silent electric assassin?

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