Hyundai i30 N Drag Races Renault Megane RS In Hot Hatch Duel

Two forbidden for the U.S. customers fruits meet in today's drag race doze coming from CAR magazine on YouTube as part of the channel's 2020 iteration of their annual Performance Shootout. The contenders come from France and South Korea, respectively, and represent two of the hottest... well, hot hatches on the European market these days.

Of course, we are talking about the Renault Megane RS and Hyundai i30 N. The former has a 1.8-liter turbocharged engine, good for 276 horsepower (205 kilowatts) and 288 pound-feet (390 Newton-meters) of torque between 2,400 and 4,800 rpm. This translates to a 0-62 miles per hour (0-100 kilometers per hour) acceleration time of 5.8 seconds.

Against it, the i30 N puts to use a 2.0-liter turbo-four with a peak output of 271 hp (202 kW) and 260 lb-ft (353 Nm) between 1,500-4,700 rpm. That’s enough power for a 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) sprint in 6.1 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph (250 kph). Both cars are driven by the front wheels and have a six-speed manual gearbox. 

As one would probably assume by looking at the numbers above, it's a pretty close drag race. The Megane RS has a little more power in combination with a slightly lower curb weight, and this gives the French hatch an advantage at the start of the race. The Hyundai eventually catches up and closes the gap, and in the end, the winner takes a very narrow victory with a time of 14.44 seconds versus 14.89 seconds for the runner-up.

In the previous episode of the Performance Shootout, CAR raced a BMW X3 M Competition against a Jaguar F-Type SVR.