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There is a catch here, but a stock Volkswagen Golf can outgun a stock Ferrari 488 Pista!
by Sidd Dhimaan, onIt sounds pretty absurd at the onset that a Volkswagen Golf can beat a Ferrari 488 Pista in a quarter-mile race. But, it actually can… on a technicality. The folks at ‘Driven Media’ pit these two very unlikely contenders in a drag race. It goes without saying that the Italian supercar will win, but is there a way the Golf can get the W? Well, it can if the Ferrari treats it as a standing drag race and the Golf as a rolling race. But, at what speed? Let’s find out.
The 488 Pista Is Four Times Quicker Than The Golf To 60 MPH
Here are the specs before we delve into the race.
The Ferrari 488 Pista is powered by a 3.9-liter, twin-turbo V-8 mill that puts out 720 horses and 568 pound-feet of torque.
Power is routed to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. It takes 2.7 seconds to sprint to 60 mph from a standstill.
The Volkswagen Golf is question features a 1.6-liter, turbo diesel engine that produces 103 horses and 184 pound-feet of twist.
The front wheels are powered here via a five-speed manual gearbox. It takes 11.2 seconds from naught to 60 mph.
Not that it matters, but if we were to discuss the weight, here’s how they’d ‘weigh’. The Pista stands in at 3,053 pounds, whereas the Golf is around 250 pounds lighter at 2,798 pounds.
How Did The Race Go?
Since a standing drag race would be a dud, the team decided to try it out in a different way. The Golf would treat it as a rolling start at different paces to see at what speed can it beat the Ferrari to the quarter-mile. All it had to do was maintain a consistent speed till it gets to the starting line, and then floor it to see if it can beat the Ferrari which would start from rest.
In the first round, the Golf rolled in at 60 mph and floored the pedal. The Ferrari also blasted off the line as soon as the Golf got past it. But, it was too easy for the supercar as it went past the hatch at probably the eight-mile mark.
The Golf’s driver, Callum, gave it a shot again, but this time from 70 mph. The result, however, didn’t change. They then gave it shot from 80 mph and this was the closest the race has been. The 488 Pista beat the Golf by barely a car length. This means they were close to closing in on the exact speed the Golf would need to beat its rival.
So, this time they attempted from 90 mph, and as it turns out, this is the lucky number! There it is, folks. If you start from 90 mph in a Golf turbo-diesel and the 488 Pista starts from naught, you can beat it to the quarter-mile. The 90 mph run was attempted again to see if better reaction times from Ferrari’s driver would make a difference. The race was closer than the first 90 mph attempt, but the Golf still won it.
I would actually be interested to see how starting from 85 mph would end up, but perhaps it would be beating this thing to the ground. In the end, 90 mph is the number that you need to remember!
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