In a new video from Canal Top Speed, we take a look at BMW’s almighty M2 taking on a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro SS in a drag race. The Camaro in question is Chevy’s new 50th Anniversary edition, as the famous American brand celebrates 50 years of the Camaro nameplate. The “Fifty” edition is purely aesthetic, as it doesn’t add any performance or power. However, it does look pretty cool.
But we aren’t here to compare how these two cars look, but to see which car is faster in a drag race. To do so, both cars are equipped pretty similarly. The Camaro is of the 2SS variant, meaning it packs a 455 hp 5.7 liter naturally-aspirated V8. That’s considerably more than the 365 hp from the BMW M2’s 3.0 liter turbocharged I6 engine, but their performance figures are quite similar. When both are equipped with their automatic transmissions (a six-speed auto for the Camaro and seven-speed DCT for BMW), which both of these are, they both get from 0-60 mph in about 4 seconds.
From a standstill, with both cars using their version of launch control, the BMW M2 is quicker off the line, despite its power disadvantage. The reason is the M2’s weight advantage and far faster-shifting DCT help it launch much harder than the Camaro can. However, the Camaro does catch the M2 in the long run, thanks to its significant power bump over the M2.
What’s interesting is that, during a rolling start from 50 km/h, the Camaro was faster. That’s because at that speed the BMW’s superior launch control and rapid-shifting transmission aren’t a factor and the Camaro can use its brute force to muscle past the M2.
It’s a pretty good video of two great performance cars going at it to see which is faster. While these two cars don’t really compete with each other, as one is a muscle car and the other is a small, nimble sports car, they’re priced similarly so it interesting to see which is faster for the money. This test shows that, in the real world, the Camaro will likely be faster on the road. The M2 needs better conditions and launch control to be faster.
