Skip to main content

Can a 550hp Mercedes beat a Formula 1 car if it’s given a head start?

Teste de velocidade: Red Bull F1 vs Mercedes SL63 vs Supercar V8
Clearly, a Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG can’t beat a Red Bull Formula 1 car in a race; the latter is a multi-million dollar precision machine built specifically to win championships. But what if the Mercedes is given a generous head start? And, how would a sedan that competes in Australia’s V8 Supercars series fare against the two? An Australian television station put all three cars on the starting grid to find out.

Let’s start with the basics: Fully stocked, the 2013 SL63 is equipped with a 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine rated at 550 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, figures that are pretty impressive for a street-legal machine. An automatic transmission sends the eight’s power to the rear wheels.

Recommended Videos

The V8 Supercar racer is based on the Holden Commodore, and it’s got a 600-horsepower V8 under the hood. However, it’s a rather heavy machine. Finally, the Red Bull RB8’s 2.4-liter V8 pumps out approximately 750 horsepower. It’s capable of revving to a whopping 18,000 rpm, and it allows the ultra-light racer to reach over 180 mph.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The Commodore sprinted off the finish line 16.8 seconds after the SL63. The Formula 1 racer got the green light 23.9 seconds after the Commodore, so it’s 40.7 seconds behind the AMG roadster. That’s a big difference, especially on a fast-paced track like the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit.

The SL63 appears to be going pretty fast when it’s alone on the track. When the Commodore enters the frame, though, it makes the SL63 look like it’s not even trying to win. The power difference between the two isn’t huge, but the Commodore clearly has the advantage thanks to upgrades made to the suspension and the brakes, among other components. However, it doesn’t have the slightest chance against the RB8, which comes up from behind like a guided missile.

At the end, it looks like the Commodore doesn’t quite catch up to the SL63, though it’s only a split second behind. The RB8 passes both of its rivals on the final straight and takes the win. The race is close, but making up 40 seconds in a single lap is an impressive feat. It goes to show that not all V8-powered cars are created equal. Aerodynamics, weight, and grip all play an important role in determining who wins.

Ronan Glon
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
Honda unveils sleek electric sedan and SUV prototypes at CES 2025
Honda 0 Saloon and Honda 0 SUV prototypes.

Honda’s next-generation electric vehicles are a step closer to production. At CES 2025, the automaker unveiled prototypes of the 0 Saloon and 0 SUV, the first two of its 0 Series EVs that will start rolling off assembly lines in Ohio next year.

The two EVs follow 0 Series concept cars Honda unveiled at CES 2024. These are closer to what buyers can expect to see in showrooms, hence the label of “prototype” rather than “concept.” How close exactly? When Honda unveils a prototype, that vehicle generally makes the transition to production with minimal changes. But that would be particularly remarkable here.
They still look like concept cars

Read more
Digital Trends’ Top Tech of CES 2025 Awards
Top Tech of CES

Las Vegas is overrun. Every billboard in town is shouting about AI, hotel bar tops now sport a sea of laptops, and after hours The Strip is elbow to elbow with engineers toting yard-long beers.

That means CES, the year’s biggest tech bacchanalia, has come to town, and Digital Trends editors have spent the last four days frolicking among next year’s crop of incredible TVs, computers, tablets, and EVs. We’re in heaven.

Read more
Sony and Honda’s Afeela 1 EV makes more sense at CES than in the real world
Afeela 1 front quarter view.

The Sony car is almost here. After its creation via a joint venture with Honda in 2022 and two years’ worth of prototypes, the electronics giant’s Afeela brand is finally taking reservations for its first electric vehicle, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2026.

But will it be worth the wait? Coinciding with the opening of reservations, Sony Honda Mobility brought updated prototypes of the Afeela 1 (as it’s now officially known) to CES 2025, representing what California customers (Afeela is only taking reservations in that state) who put down a $200 refundable deposit can expect when they take delivery.

Read more