Is the BMW M4 faster than a full-blown track day weapon? 

I love the BMW M4. It’s one of the ultimate all-rounders for people who want blistering performance, decent practicality and everyday comfort. It’s brilliant on track as well, but if you’re after the ultimate thrill on a track day then you may be better off looking at something more focussed.

Something like the Ariel Atom 4R. It may look like some scaffolding with wheels, but this is one of the most exciting road-legal cars you can buy. It’ll be useless as a daily driver, but as a track toy it’s hard to beat.

Pit these cars against each other on track and the Atom will almost certainly walk all over the BMW, but what will happen in a straight-line drag race? Well that’s what I’m going to find out.

Ariel Atom 4R

I’ve taken the wheel of the Atom for this race. Mounted behind my head is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine with 406hp and 500Nm of torque, which is sent to the rear wheels only via a six-speed sequential gearbox.

That’s a lot of power in a car which weighs in at just 665kg – in fact it works out to a whopping 610hp per tonne. It’s pretty expensive for a toy though, it’ll cost you £80,000.

BMW M4

While I’ll be driving the rear-wheel drive track lunatic, Racing Driver Sam will be cruising up the drag strip in the leather-lined cabin of the BMW M4. Under the bonnet is a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged straight-six with 530hp and 650Nm of torque, sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

It may be nearly 130hp up on the Ariel, but it’s also more than a tonne heavier at 1,775kg. This means it has around 300hp per tonne, so it’ll be a close race. The BMW costs just over £91,000.

No matter what happens, I know I’d rather drive home in the M4. It has luxury features like a windscreen and a heater which make long-distance drives much more pleasant, and I’ll end up eating far fewer flies.

As for the drag race though, it’s a tricky one to call. I think the Atom’s massive weight advantage will be enough, but you’ll have to watch the video to find out what happens.

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