Can Audi’s all-weather expertise trump Porsche’s ‘Ring racer on the drag strip?

The car industry is going green, so we thought it best to do our part by slinging two 300kW eye-searing coupes down the drag strip!

The Audi TT RS comes armed with Quattro all-wheel drive, a 294kW/480Nm turbocharged five-pot – and a coat of Kyalami Green paint.

Porsche has answered the call with their Cayman GT4, packing 309kW/420Nm from its 4.0-litre flat-six, Porsche’s telepathic PDK transmission, and a gleaming coat of Python Green duco.

In perfect conditions, the official word from Porsche is a claimed 3.9 second sprint from 0-100km/h, with Audi claiming their TT RS will do it in 3.7 seconds. But with rain bearing down on Heathcote dragway, this is far from perfect conditions.

With two less driven wheels, the Porsche also comes shod in circuit-focused Michelin Pilot Super Sports which can be notoriously allergic to cold temperatures and wet surfaces, while the Audi spins all four wheels wearing more rounded Pirelli P Zeros.

Despite the tyre advantage, the GT4’s launch control gave it a cracking start off the line while the all-paw Audi was clawing for traction. A big step out from the Porsche’s rear end, however, forced Andy to momentarily lift off while he corrected with opposite lock, after which the Audi found its footing and rocketed past, crossing the line with a car length in hand.

Lining the cars up again for a more conventional street-start race – normal drive modes, no launch control, just pin the throttle and go – saw the hardcore Cayman again claim the hole shot, but couldn’t overcome Audi’s superior Quattro traction advantage.

In the end, in drastically suboptimal conditions, both cars were significantly down on their official claims with the TT RS measuring 4.9 seconds from 0-100km/h, while the Cayman GT4 measured 5.5 seconds.

The TT RS also passed the 400m flag in 13 seconds flat, at 182.3km/h, while the Porsche followed behind posting a 14.2 second pass – albeit gaining slowly at 184.1km/h.

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