Watch as a luxury sedan takes on a convertible sports car in a series of drag races and rolling starts. In this YouTube video from Sam CarLegion, we see an all-wheel-drive Infiniti Q60S line up next to a rear-wheel-drive Ford Mustang HPP in a matchup you didn't even know you needed to see.
Gentlemen, Start Your Engines
The video shows the races from a series of in-car camera angles that document the race adequately but does not provide much edge-of-your-seat action. What we do see is two drag races from a standing start, and two rolling start showdowns between the Q60 and the Mustang primarily focused on Sam, from Sam CarLegion's YouTube channel, inside the Mustang.
In race one, Sam turns on the Mustang's traction control and shifts to sport plus mode, with the Q60 set up similarly. Sam reports a good launch off the line, but the Q60 leaves the Mustang behind seconds into the battle. For race two, Sam shifts the Mustang into Drag Mode with traction control off, but the Q60 gets the jump off the line and is gone. The Mustang's in-car camera shows that shifting is harsh and jumpy in Drag Mode.
The first rolling start race begins at 31 mph with both cars set to sport mode and traction control off. Surprisingly, the Mustang wins for the first time, but it seems the Q60 driver is asleep at the wheel and unable to recover. Rolling start race two begins much the same, except this time both drivers will shift their automatic transmissions manually, and again we see the Q60's taillights from the Mustang's in-car camera.
And The Winner Is: Infiniti Q60S
The Infiniti Q60S in this test came equipped with a 3.0-liter V6 sporting twin turbochargers, producing 300 hp with 295 lb-ft of torque. That power goes through a seven-speed automatic transmission to an all-wheel-drive system. With a curb weight of 3,915 lbs, the Q60S enjoys a ratio of 0.077 hp for each lb of curb weight.
Finishing In A Respectable Second Place: Ford Mustang HPP
The Ford Mustang in the matchup gave up 0.7-liters of displacement and two cylinders to the Q60S with its 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. However, the smaller engine produces more power, with 330 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque.
With the Mustang's 10-speed transmission, the matchup favors the Ford. Even the Mustang's 0.084 horsepower-weight ratio (corrected from the videos 0.072) favors the Mustang. With all-wheel-drive the only advantage in favor of the Q60S, one starts to look at the driver in the Mustang.
The Mustang did not win this matchup, but there's no reason for Mustang owners to wear bags on their heads based on this defeat. Instead, the Ford Mustang HPP performed admirably and kept each loss close.
