BMW M4 Fights Mustang Dark Horse In Uneven Drag Race

After pitting the M5 Touring in opposition to the RS6 Avant a few weeks in the past, Edmunds is at it once more. This time, as a substitute of racing wagons, they lined up a pair of coupes for a head-to-head showdown. In a single nook sits a normal BMW M4 Competitors with rear-wheel drive. Within the different, a Ford Mustang Darkish Horse fitted with a supercharger package for further oomph.

The inventory M4 depends on the tried-and-tested S58 engine, a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six producing 503 hp and 479 lb-ft. The Mustang Dark Horse’s 5.0-liter Coyote V8 is of course aspirated from the manufacturing facility, however this explicit instance was supercharged. The end result? A hefty 810 hp and 615 lb-ft.

Sure, there’s an enormous hole in output between the 2 automobiles. The horse automobile enjoys a staggering 307 hp and 136 lb-ft benefit. Nonetheless, the BMW offsets a few of that deficit by weighing roughly 354 kilos lower than the Ford. One other discrepancy between the 2 efficiency coupes had a big impression on the drag race outcomes. Sure, the tires.

The M4 Competition rode on Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S rubber, so nothing out of the strange. As for the Mustang Darkish Horse, it got here outfitted with a lot stickier Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS semi-slicks. With much more energy and superior tires, it’s no shock the Blue Oval’s coupe triumphed in each drag races. Even so, the battles have been shut, leaving us to surprise what might need occurred had each automobiles been working the identical tires.

We’d even be curious to see how an M4 with xDrive would have fared within the U-drag race, or higher but, an M4 CS. That stated, the rear-wheel-drive M4 Competitors examined by Edmunds already carried a premium of about $19,000 over the supercharged Mustang Darkish Horse. The all-wheel-drive G82 variants are even pricier, which might have widened the hole additional.

Regardless of the obvious variations between the 2 automobiles, it’s fascinating to see how Germany and the US stack up in back-to-back drag races. Each have their strengths and weaknesses, and no matter which facet you’re on, it’s price being grateful that automobiles just like the M4 and Mustang are nonetheless round in 2026.