The Sport Sedan 2-Second Club! The G80 BMW M3 CS, W206 Mercedes-AMG C63S E Performance, and Tesla Model 3 Performance Highland all hit 60 mph in less than 3 seconds! ...but what happens in the quarter-mile?
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Compact sport-sedan enthusiasts now have the full spectrum of choice: full EV, plug-in hybrid, or ICE — and they're all very, very fast.
The 2024 BMW M3 CS is the traditional choice: a twin-turbocharged S58 3.0-liter straight-six making 543 hp. It's the quickest and most powerful version of the M3 you can buy.
The new 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance makes 510 hp in the US Market — 50 more than the Euro and UK versions, and promises to be the quickest Model 3 yet!
The 2025 Mercedes C63 S E-Performance uses a 469-hp 2.0-liter 4-cylinder with an electric turbo and multiple electric motors for an outrageous total system output of 671 hp.
That is 53 hp more than a McLaren F1. But the 4750-lb C63 S weighs 860 lb more than the BMW. Despite its mass, it's still the quickest C-Class ever made.
In a role reversal, the Tesla Model 3 is neither the heaviest nor the most expensive of the group — two characteristics that used to be a guarantee for electric vehicles. In fact, it costs half as much as the special version M3. And $30k less than the Mercedes.
This video includes two different drag races:
1. Our trademark race with slow-mo talkback, with results procured in exactly the same way as the magazines: scientifically obtained, VBox-verified, and weather-corrected. Full tanks of gas / battery charge, and with one foot of rollout extracted — recreated as an ideal real-world drag race if every car launched at exactly the same instant, driven by a professional tester.
2. The bonus race, where none of the cars uses Launch Control: what happens when you merely flat-foot them all, not giving the ICE cars a chance to build revs and boost? The results might surprise you!
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