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Watch a Dodge Charger 392 and an AMG C43 throw down at the drag stripe like they’ve got old business
by Dim Angelov, on LISTEN 02:59Everyone knows, high-horsepower builds are insanely fast in a straight line, but seeing two stock vehicles run on the drag strip is just as interesting. Sam CarLegion provides us with another YouTube video and this time, it’s the Dodge Charger 392 Scat Pack versus the Mercedes C43 AMG. The two cars are very different, with the only thing in common being their sedan body style. While there can only be one winner, some of the races were quite close.
Dodge Charger 392 Scat Pack
At 4,354 pounds (1,975 kg), the Dodge is much heavier. However, its 6.4-liter (392 cubic-inch) Hemi V-8 packs 485 horsepower and 475 pound-feet (644 Nm). All that is sent to the rear wheels through a ZF eight-speed automatic.
Mercedes C43 AMG
At 3,825 pounds (1,735 kg), the Mercedes C43 AMG is much lighter. However, its 3.0-liter V-6, although turbocharged produces “only” 385 horsepower and 384 pound-feet (520 Nm). However, this particular C43 is equipped with the 4Matic all-wheel-drive system while the gearbox is a nine-speed Speedshift automatic.
The Drag Race
The cars start from a dig, in their sportiest setting – Sport Plus for the Mercedes and Track for the Dodge. Thanks to its all-wheel drive, The C43 AMG makes an effortless start while the Charger lags behind. However, by the end of the quarter-mile, the Charger’s extra power comes into play, allowing it to just about beat the AMG.
The second race reveals a similar result, although Charger manages to gain on the “Merc” a bit earlier, by the looks of it. Sam, notes how violent the C43 AMG’s launch is. The German car also seems to have shorter first and second gears. That said, the result so far is Dodge: 2, Mercedes: 0.
Rolling Race
Once again, two runs were made – one in automatic and one in manual mode. From a 31 mph (50 km/h) roll, the more powerful, normally-aspirated Charger surges ahead of the Mercedes and stays there. Sam, notes that the C43 AMG is “horrible in manual mode”, but even if it wasn’t, it probably wouldn’t have helped much against the much more powerful Charger.
