The hot hatch battle is raging and raging hard. So, what better way to separate the most powerful contenders in this class than by pitting them against one another in an epic drag race?
That’s exactly what the industrious folks over at CarWow did, gathering five of the heaviest hitters in the segment and hitting an appropriately lengthy stretch of tarmac. That’s right, you’re about to watch a five-way drag race featuring the new Audi RS3 Sportback, Mercedes-AMG A45, Ford Focus RS, updated Volkswagen Golf R and new Honda Civic Type R.
Of course, it’s not exactly a fair fight, considering the examples of the Focus, Golf and Civic in this test use manual gearboxes (and the other two boast self-shifters … with launch control). In addition, the Honda is the only front-wheel-drive vehicle here.
The quintet of rivals first race across the quarter-mile, before switching to a rolling start.
Anyway, we won’t ruin the video by revealing the winner here. So watch the footage above to learn the result…