Mercedes-AMG GT S Smokes Audi TT RS

Just because an Audi TT RS makes 900 HP doesn’t mean it’ll be able to keep up with a Mercedes-AMG GTS making the same power.

DragTimesInfo is a Russian YouTube channel dedicated to drag racing. The commentary is all in Russian, but don’t let that stop you watching this video. It’s painfully obvious how much work has gone into the Audi TT RS to get it to 900 hp. It’s also obvious that the Mercedes-AMG GTS didn’t need any apparent visible changes to get there.

Once the cars take off, it becomes clear just how big of a turbo the Audi needs to get invited to the party. That looks like an engine not strong enough to spin up the huge turbo without a long run-up. If the driver’s reaction time isn’t bad enough, the turbo is laggier than an unpaid office intern on a Friday afternoon.

ALSO SEE: Weistec’s 1,000-HP, Twin-Turbo V12, 4Matic C65 AMG Black Series

Once the cars have raced, you see the Audi’s party piece as it takes a solo run. It has a very high top speed, but the first 1/8 of a mile is as important as the second. Top speed doesn’t matter when the winner is the car with the fastest time over the line. Sure, it would be a close race over the 1/2 mile. But with all that time and money spent on aero and strengthening the Audi’s chassis, they could have bought a Mercedes-AMG with three more cylinders and enough juice to actually spin up the turbo.

Ian Wright

Ian Wright has been a professional writer for two years and is a regular contributor to Corvette Forum, Jaguar Forum, and 6SpeedOnline, among other auto sites.

His obsession with cars started young and has left him stranded miles off-road in Land Rovers, being lost far from home in hot hatches, going sideways in rallycross cars, being propelled forward in supercars and, more sensibly, standing in fields staring at classic cars. His first job was as a mechanic and then trained as a driving instructor before going into media production.

The automotive itch never left though, and he realized writing about cars is his true calling. However, that doesn’t stop him from also hosting the Both Hand Drive podcast.

Ian can be reached at bothhanddrive@gmail.com