The time has finally come to see how BMW stacks up against Tesla, in an almost fair fight. The BMW i4 M50 is bound to hit dealerships around the world this year before landing in customers’ hands. But of course, the one competitor everyone is looking to take down is Tesla and, in this segment, the Model 3 Performance is the one to compare against the i4 M50. The guys from CarWow brought us the first drag race between these two models right as the new year rolled in.
So, what kind of specs are we looking at here? Well, both cars are all-wheel drive and both cars have a dual motor setup, one for each axle. The BMW i4 M50 has a combined maximum power output of 544 PS and 795 Nm of torque. Those are very impressive numbers but the i4 is a bit heavy, on account of it using a heavily modified version of the CLAR platform, that was intended for ICE models in the first place: 2,215 kilos.
On the other hand, the Tesla Model 3 Performance runs on a bespoke platform, made specifically for electric cars. Therefore, it’s lighter by some 400 kilos, tipping the scales at 1,845 kilos. Luckily for the BMW, it’s also less powerful, at 490 PS and 660 Nm of torque. So, can the BMW make up for the 25% weight difference with just 50 horsepower extra?
As you’re about to see, in the standing drag race, it can. The BMW and the Tesla are neck and neck in the first part of the 1/4 mile run but the German car pulls ahead towards the end, on both runs, which probably means the Bavarians are not exactly honest about the true power figures of their car. The same result can be observed in the rolling races as well. In the brake test, the extra weight the BMW has to deal with translates into an automatic win for the Tesla.
