Rear-wheel-drive showdown: MOTOR's closest drag race yet!

In today’s MOTOR drag race, we have two high-powered rear-drivers battling it out for straight-line supremacy.

The similarities end at the driven wheels, however, with Ford’s Mustang GT providing naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 thrills, and unmatched fat-arm appeal from its two-door muscle car styling.

In the other corner, the distinctly-Korean Genesis G70 hides a twin-turbo 3.3-litre V6 beneath its stylish and softer saloon lines. Immediately the Mustang emerges as the pre-race favourite, armed with 339kW/556Nm, outgunning the Genesis’ more modest 274kW/510Nm outputs.

But, as we know, cold and rainy conditions at Heathcote drag strip mean anything can happen once tyres hit the tarmac.

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Our intercontinental contenders battled it out in a variety of scenarios, including a race mode launch control start, a normal mode street start, and a 50km/h roll race.

The first race mode launch control saw both cars locked in a dead heat from the start line, until the Mustang’s large capacity engine found its footing and began inching ahead. Until it ran headfirst into the rev-limiter at the top of fourth gear, giving the photo finish win to the Genesis.

A do-over saw the Genesis leap ahead with a big traction advantage off the line, but the Mustang’s longer legs reeled the Korean in, nosing ahead as it grabs fifth at over 180km/h.

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The street start puts both cars back into their default normal driving modes, with no launch control functions used for the start. This exercise removes much of the driver variables, and shines a light on which car’s traction management systems and powertrain calibrations are best served at dissecting Victoria’s sub-optimal conditions.

It’s the Genesis that makes lighter work of cold and coarse tarmac, surprisingly posting its fastest 0-100km/h time of the day – in comfort mode, and no launch control, no less. The Mustang struggles to overcome its own might off the line, giving the Korean saloon a significant and insurmountable head start.

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With both competitors claiming a win each under their belt, a 50km/h roll race would act as our final decider. It was neck and neck from the get-go, with the brutish Mustang winning out by just half a car-length.

At the end of the day, it was the Genesis that took out the hardest acceleration award, posting a best time of 5.2-seconds from 0-100km/h. It bested the 400m strip in 13.2-seconds at 172km/h.

The Mustang takes a little longer to get out of bed, with a best time of 5.42-seconds from 0-100km/h. It ultimately cleared the quarter-mile in 13.1-seconds at 177.39km/h.

The hard data gives a hard-fought win to the Ford Mustang, but it was far from an ashamed defeat for the Genesis G70. Despite yielding a full 65kW and 46Nm disadvantage to the iconic Ford Mustang, real-world results proved far closer than the initial on-paper stats would suggest.

The Mustang may win this round, but the Genesis can go home with its head held high.

Was it as close as you imagined? Watch all the action above, and let us know in the comments below!