After giving the M5 (F90) an all-wheel-drive system in 2017, BMW M extended its xDrive offerings with the all-paw M3 and M4 Competition models in 2021. The cars put on some weight but the Bavarian brand touted a 0.4-second quicker sprint to 62 mph (100 km/h) than the equivalent rear-wheel-drive models. A new drag race between the M4 and the mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette C8 highlights the significant performance gap between RWD and AWD.
There’s just one M4 in the video since its intricate AWD setup has a selectable RWD mode, so to prove a point, you don’t need two cars, one with xDrive and the other without it. Basically, you get the best of both worlds. The video starts with a few rolling races that show an M4 Competition xDrive is a veritable supercar beater. It’s particularly impressive because the Corvette is lighter and has a dual-clutch automatic transmission. The American machine also packs a bit more horsepower, although that might not be necessarily true given how BMW typically underrates its engines.
The first drag race starts at the 5:38 mark with the M4 in xDrive mode rocketing off the line in an impressive manner. It immediately puts the Corvette in its rearview mirror and wins the duel without breaking a sweat. It’s a different story in the subsequent drag race with the BMW in two-wheel-drive mode because the car is much slower at the start. While it did lose the drag race, it was only one-tenth of a second slower to 60 mph and also 0.1 seconds slower to the quarter mile.
BMW has an even quicker M4 on the way considering the CS coming in 2024 will have more power and xDrive. In addition, it’s bound to lose a bit of weight compared to the Competition variant. The German luxury brand has already teased the M4 CS as its fastest-ever production car around the Nürburgring.
Source: Sam CarLegion / YouTube
