Forget the roar of an engine – the future of speed is silent, and it's arriving fast. The BYD Seal, a new electric car from China, is making waves with its lightning-quick acceleration. We are believers that petrol-powered cars will never go extinct but we have given it to EVs how accessible they are making performance. But how does it stack up against established performance giants? We dust off some relevant names and put them to the test, revealing 5 cars the BYD Seal leaves in its electric wake. Prepare to be surprised!
Folks, I know how old it is… Released 25 years ago! But humans like me and the humans before only had two answers for anything related to cars. This one of them and little did most of us know the stock R34 GTR took 4.8 secs to reach 100 kmph from 0. The reason? As the stock, R34 was a Japanese gentleman forced to not behave more than 276 bhp. Godzilla boasts an inline six-cylinder RB26DETT legendary engine with 392 Nm of torque. A few imports we have are priced upwards of Rs 2.12 crores.
The car which showed up many Indian pop songs, whether its good or bad is debatable but all we know is the car is a masterpeice. However, we warn you not to try to race against a BYD seal on signal. By 4.11 seconds, the Gallardo reaches 0-100 kmph you will be seeing the rear end of the Seal. Although the Gallardo boasts a sonorous 5204cc naturally aspirated V10 behind the cockpit with 542 bhp and 540 Nm of torque when it was new. Back in 2011, a new one cost Rs 3.06 crore (ex-showroom).
This isn't even the slowest Porsche 911. That title belongs to the 911 Carrera T. The same car also apparently lost to a Cybertruck towing another Porsche (although the quarter mile claim is controversial). So here is a plain Carrera which is a whole 2 seconds faster than a Carrera T, 4.2 secs from 0-100 kmph but still slower than BYD Seal on acceleration. Porsche boasts a straight six-cylinder 3996cc rear engine with 518 hp and 465 Nm. The base spec without any customization will cost you Rs 1.86 crore (Ex-Showroom).
The successor to another Japanese Poster boy, the legendary name carries performance for decades, Supra. However, the new one often gets bullied for his German relationships. But this isn't the 80s and the new Toyota Supra is no stranger to performance. Unfortunately, it takes 3.9 seconds more to reach 100kmp from a standstill. Underneath it has a 3.0 litre turbocharged inline s producing 335 hp and 500 Nm. P.S. The base model GR Supra 2.0L has lesser power and slower 0-100 kmph. That said India never got Supras from the factory and the current US prices go up to USD 66,370 (Rs 55,40,345.26 converted).
The direct rival in terms of size. The German luxury manufacturer is synonymous with sporty cars but will have to fall back and watch the BYD seal flashing by it. BMW i4 eDrive 40 takes 5.7 seconds to 100 kmph from zero and the best part for the environment is none of these two leaves behind any smoke during this hot act. The electric 3 series equivalent churns out 340 hp of power and 430 Nm of torque. The BMW launched the i4 xDrive 40 with competitive 70 lakh pricing in May 2022 and the facelift is around the corner.
The Chinese manufacturer is technically not new in the Indian market. First, the company tested the waters with an E6 electric MPV exclusively for fleet buyers. Later E6 was sold to the general public and subsequently launched ATTO 3 electric mid-size SUV, but both failed to make Indian buyers overlook the Chinese ‘maal’ perception for that sort of pricing. Will things change with the 5-seater BYD family saloon, will people now start arguing about the source of batteries from Indian EV manufacturers? All thanks to disruptive pricing from the BYD and it is commendable how they have achieved this even though it is CBU units. BYD seal is priced in India at Rs 41 lakh and goes up to Rs 53 lakh for the performance variant which can pull off of 3.8 seconds 0-100kmph timing. Other direct rivals like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 are only left out of this list just because they will also not be able to catch up with the Seal. Although most of the above cars will be able to edge the Seal when it comes to top speed, which is capped only at 180kmph. On that bombshell see you later.
