Watch a Golf R Beat a Supra on the Drag Strip (Eventually)

After years and years and years the new Supra was finally unveiled last winter. And with a BMW-supplied straight-six making 335 hp and 365 lb-ft of torque, it’s safe to say that it looks like a blast.

But it only powers the rear wheels, which means it’s at a disadvantage when it comes to launches. So how does it fair against the less powerful but AWD Golf R?

I think we can all agree that the hosts of the show made some pretty safe bets (Golf R gets the jump off the line with the Supra reeling it back in) but thanks to a bad launch on the first run, the Supra walks away with the first race.

Fortunately, the show had the drag strip available for a second run and even with another slightly slow start, the Golf R makes use of its AWD to pull out a lead that it holds onto long enough to finish the run ahead.

It’s hard to say exactly what was happening on the second run, but it sounds like the Supra was spinning its tires for much of the second run, so that is something to take into account. That said, it’s exactly the weakness that the Golf R was looking to exploit.

Regardless, it’s just further proof that horsepower and torque aren’t everything. Getting them down matter just as much.