360 HP Golf R Drag Races Audi RS3, Proves Tuning Isn't Pointless

Of course you did, otherwise, you wouldn't be reading this story about a modified Golf R going up against an Audi RS3.

Of course, we'd also like to make a point about going to the right tuning company. Anybody can just dial up the power of a turbocharged engine, but that doesn't necessarily make a car faster. Mountune has been in the business of speed for a really long time, so it's no coincidence that Ford even sells their kits through the dealership network.

Anyway, we're talking about Volkswagens here, not Fords. At just 360 horsepower, the Montune Golf R is not the most impressive number boaster. You can get 350 HP from ABT for less than half the price or even 480 HP with a few bolt-ons from HGP. So we weren't expecting much at the outset of the race.

For the sake of having a benchmark, there's another Golf R here, the one in blue, which packs 300 horsepower. And to demonstrate how fast the Montune Golf R has become, there's an Audi RS3 too.

Now, the Audi is based on the same platform, but its 2.5-liter turbo engine makes 400 HP. So it's like lining up a BMW M340i and the M3 or an AMG A35 and A45. The difference-maker is not the chassis, but the engine itself.

Somehow, the modified Golf R manages to take down the RS3 by a nose. Now, it's also possible that the model year plays a part here, as we've seen how Audi models coming out today are a little slower; same numbers, just a bit... lazy at launch. But the gap on paper between a stock R and RS3 is only half a second, and it's not impossible to think that 60 hp can bridge that.