It has been said by many that the Autobahn-storming, high-performance cars coming out of BMW‘s (and Mercedes’) factories are Europe’s muscle cars. But can Germany beat America at its own game?
Edmunds decided to find out by pitting the 2022 BMW M4 against the 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. Although the Mustang is technically a pony car, not a muscle car, someone forgot to tell Ford’s engineers when they gave the car 760 hp (567 kW/770 PS).
On pure grunt, few things come close to the Mustang Shelby GT500 and that certainly stands for the M4. With “just” 503 hp (375 kW/510 PS), it looks like it might be at an enormous disadvantage going into this race. Edmunds knows – thanks to a previously filmed, straight-up drag race – that the BMW can get away from the Ford off the line, though, thanks to its sophisticated AWD system.
Read Also: Ford Unveils 2022 Mustang Shelby GT500 Heritage Edition
[embedded content]
And that’s what happens here on this U-Drag race. The format, for the uninitiated, requires that the cars run side-by-side while accelerating from a standstill, braking hard into a hairpin corner, and racing back down the drag strip.
In this race, the M4 once again proves the superiority of AWD for getting off the line and almost seems to be running away with it. Contrary to what might be expected, though, the Mustang Shelby GT500 claws back time through the corner and is able to put its power down through the back straight earning it a conclusive victory.
“It’s a monster!” the drivers can be heard saying in this video and, indeed, it’s hard to argue with their conclusions. Ironically, though, it seems to be more than just the muscle that earns the Ford a victory here.
[embedded content]
