Do you know that meme with the aristocratic vampires looking down on people? Yeah, that’s the Porsche 911, or at least the people who own them. The rear-engined sportscar is unique, one of Germany’s best engineering achievements. But is it really better than a BMW 3 Series sedan with six cylindersโฆ the M3?
BMW and Porsche aren’t direct rivals, but we’ve always felt like the Bavarian engineers have always chased Stuttgart’s lead. We remember the original 1 Series coupe definitely felt like the answer to the Cayman, while the M3 GTS was undoubtedly after the GT3’s profitable market.
The indirect rivalry will be even stronger in the electric car era, but today, we’ll focus on a simple RWD drag race. Carwow lined up two cars that are closer in terms of price rather than spec. Namely, we have the base 911 Carrera, which is anything but cheap, against the M3 Competition.
You could even argue that the BMW doesn’t have a direct rival from Audi or Mercedes-AMG, only Alfa Romeo. Then again, it’s likely just two cars Carwow had at the time of filming.
Specs-wise, both cars are powered by twin-turbo 3.0-liter engines. The one in base 911 is a flat-six mounted at the back of the car. It produces 379 horsepower. Meanwhile, the M3 Competition puts out 503 horsepower plus about 40% more torque. However, we’ve watched enough drag races to know the Carrerra is still quite fast.
If memory serves, it put up a decent fight against the C8 Corvette. Also, the M3 is much heavier, having four doors and real seats adults can use. So, this is rear-engined vs. front-engined, inline-6 vs. flat-six, Germany vs. Germany. Place your bets, grab the popcorn and prepare the angry comments, as this is sure to upset fanatics.
The first race sees the M3 spinning its wheels, struggling to put its extra power down. So, you see, the M3/M4 didn’t need xDrive. BMW should just get rid of the trunk and put the 3.0-liter there!
The second race is much closer, but the 911 still wins. The rolling races do reveal that an M3 has way more power, but by then, you’re probably already wondering how to afford that Porsche. No beaver teeth, no pointless carbon, just a timeless sportscar design.