Top Gear Drag Races #2: Merc AMG GT S vs Porsche 911 GTS

The 911's layout is fundamentally wrong. Slung out over the rear axle is a silly place to have an engine, we all know that, but when it comes to drag racing its deformity is its friend. Whereas the Mercedes concentrates its mass towards the nose, the 911's layout naturally forces its rear rubber into the road – the key to shotgun-fast starts.

Problem is, the AMG GT S laughs in the face of rear tyre contact patches because it has power, lots of power. Around 80bhp more than the Carrera GTS in fact and that gives it a two-tenths edge over the Porsche from 0-62mph. But as we all know, Porsche likes to lie through its teeth when it comes to official performance figures and watch our jaws drop when we strap timing equipment on the cars ourselves. 

Small side note here - this is the pre-facelift, non-turbo model. The new 3.0-litre turbo Carrera S shaves a further tenth from this naturally-aspirated GTS' official 0-62mph time. Yikes. 

Anyway, enough trash talk. It's Butterbean versus Anthony Joshua, sheer punching force vs polished technique. Settle in, it's on.