Back in the day, the E24-generation BMW M6 was a seriously fast car. Its big, motorsport-bred inline-six was impressive for the ’80s and it combined power and refinement like few other engines in the world. However, it was also quite expensive. So how would that fancy, sophisticated, European inline-six fair against some old-school American muscle? In this video from The Fast Lane Car, we get to see the E26 M6 take on a C4-generation Corvette.
The E26 BMW M6 used a 3.5-liter naturally-aspirated I6 that made 256 horsepower in North America, which was paired to either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. The car in this video had the former. According to BMW back in the ’80s, the M6 was capable o f0-60 mph in 6.1 seconds and a 14.7 second quarter-mile time. Not too shabby for an ’80s GT car.
However, the C4 Corvette packed a 5.7-liter naturally-aspirated V8, with around 245 horsepower. It also had a manual transmission, but a four-speed instead of a five-speed, and was also rear-wheel drive. It was capable of 0-60 mph in about 5.5 seconds with a manual and a quarter-mile time of 14.2 seconds. Why was the Corvette so much faster, despite having less power? Weight. Corvettes were light, far lighter than the ultra-luxurious 6 Series which had two back seats and thick leather everything.
But what about in the real world, when rubber meets the road, which car is fastest? Off the line, the Corvette was a bit tricky to control, in this video. It couldn’t stop spinning its rear wheels, which let the M6 jump out to an early lead. However, toward the end of the race, as the ‘Vette regained traction, it started to catch up to the Bimmer. Who won? You’re going to have to watch the race to find out.
Regardless of victor, though, neither car is as fast as the car that raced the winner. Following the Corvette/M6 shootout, the winner had to take on a brand-new Hyundai Elantra N. The little four-cylinder Hyundai makes more power than both cars, with 276 horsepower, and gets an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox but is only front-wheel drive. And, honestly, it’s not even a fair matchup. The modern turbo-four-powered Hyundai crushes the ’80s competition without breaking a sweat. So…
