You can build it, or you can buy it, and a new drag race video exemplifies these two camps. It pits a stock Porsche 918 Spyder hypercar against a tuned Honda Integra Type R, which doesn’t seem fair no matter how you slice it, but the Honda has had a significant amount of work done under the hood.
The Porsche 918 Spyder is at a power deficit in this contest. A naturally aspirated 4.6-liter V8 engine and two electric motors with all-wheel drive are at the heart of its hybrid powertrain. The combined output is 887 horsepower and 944 pound-feet (1,280 Newton-meters) of torque.
The Honda Integra Type R has a much smaller 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. It originally made 220 hp, but a large turbocharger and a ton of trial and error have increased the output to a bonkers 922 hp. Thankfully, all that power isn’t hitting just the front wheels. The sequential gearbox channels power to all four wheels through an all-wheel-drive system from a 1980s Honda Civic wagon.
The Honda and Porsche competed in a series of quarter-mile races that began with a slow roll to protect the Integra’s clutch. The Porsche got the lead in the first race right from the start, with the Honda’s traction control intervening during its start. The Porsche won the first race, but it crossed the finish line with the Honda reeling it in.
The Honda won the second race, while the Porsche won the third, the two trading victories. The Honda then won the fourth race thanks to an mis-shifted in the Porsche. The 918 came back in the final bout, winning three of the five.
The pair attempted a proper rolling race from 50 miles per hour, but the Honda popped out of gear. The two then performed the brake test, with the Honda handily losing. It lacked anti-lock brakes and locked up the tires, stopping several car lengths ahead of the spyder.
The final event was the proper drag race between the two. It was a close race nearly all the way down the track, but the Honda started to pull ahead just before the two crossed the finish line. The Integra Type R completed the quarter-mile jaunt in 9.8 seconds. The Porsche needed 9.9 seconds.
