carwow has recently compared two hi-po Germans in the form of the BMW M3 Touring and Audi RS 7 Sportback Performance. As you can already tell, said Germans couldn't be more different both from the standpoint of design and in regard to what's hiding under the sheet metal.
Codenamed G81, the M3 Touring is a D-segment wagon that slots above the G21 3 Series Touring M340i xDrive. Similar to the lesser model, it packs a twin-turbocharged I6 that produces more power and torque than advertised.
Mat Watson and company like to talk in metric, which is why the Bimmer is presented as having 510 horsepower and 650 Nm. Over in the United States of America, the sedan-bodied M3 Competition xDrive belts out 503 mechanical ponies and 450 pound-feet. For model year 2024, that is, because the 2025 model is a bit punchier. BMW says it makes 523 horsepower, which converts to 530 metric ponies.
The Audi, meanwhile, is rocking the Volkswagen Group's twin-turbo V8 we all know and love. Also used by the Bentley, Porsche, and Lamborghini marques, the 4.0-liter mill is much obliged to deliver 630 ps and 850 Nm or 621 hp and 627 lb-ft of tire-shredding torque. All four tires, that is, because this fellow comes with Audi quattro all-wheel drive by default.
What kind of quattro? Think permanent all-wheel drive by means of a purely mechanical center diff and a rear sport diff. The split is normally 40:60, but when needed, the RS 7 Sportback Performance can send up to 70 percent to the front wheels or up to 85 percent to the rear wheel.
Photo: carwow on YouTube / edited
M xDrive is a different animal, for it features a rear-only mode. Both vehicles feature ZF's eight-speed automatic, which is dubbed Tiptronic in Audi jargon or Steptronic in BMW vernacular. Before going into carwow's drag race, you should be aware that the M3 Touring is quite a bit lighter than Audi's performance liftback: 1,865 kilograms (4,112 pounds) versus 2,065 (4,553).
Given the aforementioned, it's easy to guess which one's top dog in the quarter mile. From a dig, the RS 7 bettered the M3 in two of three races, posting a best elapsed time of 11.3 seconds. Mat Watson and the BMW settled for second place with a hugely respectable 11.5 seconds.
The M3 Touring is completely obliterated in the half mile from a rolling start, and that shouldn't come as a surprise. Not only does the heavier vehicle pack more torque, but its peak torque band starts earlier than that of the BMW. The four-ringed automaker from Ingolstadt quotes 2,050 to 4,500 revolutions per minute, whereas the six-cylinder engine in the M3 Touring develops maximum torque from 2,750 to 5,500 rpm.
The RS 7 Sportback Performance stopped from 100 miles per hour (about 160 clicks) to zero that little bit quicker than the M3 Touring in the emergency braking test, but the question is, which one floats your boat more?
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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