The BMW M3 G80 and Ferrari SF90 Stradale are not rivals by any stretch of the imagination. Aside from the gigantic price gap, one is a performance luxury sedan while the other is a legitimate mid-engined supercar. Nevertheless, who said the two can’t meet in a drag race? It certainly wasn’t Carwow as they have lined up the two cars for an unexpected duel in a straight line.
To try and even the odds, the xDrive version was chosen for the battle. Why? Because it’s nearly half a second quicker to 62 mph (100 km/h) than its rear-wheel-drive sibling by taking just 3.5 seconds to complete the job. However, this isn’t a standard all-paw M3 as it has been modified by British tuner Tom Wrigley Performance. Consequently, the S58 engine no longer develops 510 hp and 650 Nm (479 lb-ft) as the twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six has been taken to 750 hp and a massive 900 Nm (662 lb-ft).
Even with the heavily upgraded engine, the BMW M3 xDrive pales in comparison to the twin-turbo V8 and three electric motors of the Ferrari SF90. The Stradale packs a combined 1,000 hp, but the torque is “only” 800 Nm (590 lb-ft), although the electric motors deliver the torque instantly. It should be noted the Prancing Horse is also considerably lighter despite its intricate plug-in hybrid powertrain, at 1,570 kilograms (3,461 pounds) or 210 kg (463 lbs) less than the sedan.
Predictably, the M3 lost all three drag races, even the first one when it was far quicker at the start. However, it did manage to keep up the pace with the Ferrari for a while, and that’s an achievement in its own right. It was a similar outcome in the subsequent rolling races from 50 mph (80 km/h) to the half-mile mark, partially thanks to the SF90’s quicker-to-react dual-clutch automatic transmission.
In the brake test from 100 mph (161 km/h), the lighter car won by a significant margin, thus enabling the exotic Italian supercar to triumph all duels.
Source: Carwow / YouTube