Not Even the Mighty RS7 Can Keep Up With the Ioniq 5 N in a Drag Race

Audi's mighty Quattro all-wheel drive impresses against the EV performance car, but in a straight line, it's the Hyundai that wins.

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The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is the performance car of the moment. It's the first purely electric car the Motor1 staff truly loves, thanks mostly to its ability to act like an internal combustion-powered vehicle. But it can still do the straight-line acceleration thing incredibly well.

The Carwow YouTube channel brought together an Ioniq 5 N and an Audi RS7 Performance to see which would be quicker in a series of drag races. The RS7 is among the mightiest cruise missile saloons on sale right now, packing 621 horsepower in Performance trim, getting torque to all four wheels via the company's iconic Quattro all-wheel drive. 

The Hyundai is no slouch either, making a maximum of 641 horsepower when the boost function is activated. Thanks to its two electric motors, it also gets torque to all four corners. The most interesting factoid, though: Both cars weigh nearly the same, meaning this is a true head-to-head matchup.

In the first of three half-mile standing start drag races, the Audi gets a great start and holds its lead against the Hyundai until the finish. The second race has a far more even start between the two cars, resulting in an extremely close victory for the Ioniq 5. The last race is much of the same, with the EV taking the win by half a car length.

The Carwow team tries a couple of roll-races between the two cars as well. For the first one, the Ioniq 5 is placed into its fake gear-shift mode, which emulates an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The Audi easily walks away with the win. For the next race, the Hyundai was switched to normal EV power delivery, and this time, it took the win (but just barely).

The only test where the Audi was able to secure a real victory was in the braking test. In a side-by-side test from 100 mph, the Audi comes to a stop several car lengths shorter than the Hyundai. While both cars weigh the same, the RS7's bigger brakes and stickier tires likely played a big role in its victory.