On paper, a race between a Nismo-tuned Nissan GT-R and a Mercedes-AMG GT S doesn’t sound like a fair fight. Sure, the GT S->ke4853 has 503 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque on tap, but that pales in comparison to the 600 horsepower and 481 pound-feet of torque Godzilla->ke1592 has at its disposal. With the tale of the tape laid out, it does seem like the AMG GT S would get smoked by the GT-R, right? Well, if everything was decided “on paper”, we’d be living in a very different world right now.

The truth is, the AMG GT S can hold its own against the GT-R, even if the choice of exercise to illustrate that isn’t as “scientific” as I hoped it would be. In this video, we see the two supercars->ke177 engage in a good ol’ drag race to determine which one is quicker to the quarter-mile. There were some changes made to the rules, including having a rolling start of 50 mph instead of the usual stand-still start of any drag race.

I don’t want to give away the results of the race - actually there were two races, and the second appears to be the more relevant one - but after watching it, I invite everyone to think if there really is a big gulf in performance between these two exotics. Remember, the GT-R may have the horses over the AMG GT S, but the Mercedes->ke187 is almost 300 pounds lighter than the Nissan.->ke62 Something to think about as you prepare to watch this “race”.

Nissan Nismo GTR

Read our full review here.

Mercedes AMG GT S

Read our full review here.