Top Gear drag races #9: VW California vs Atom 3.5R vs Smart

The Volkswagen California featured in the video above has a 2.0-litre, turbocharged diesel engine. It produces 178bhp and accelerates from 0-62mph in 12.4s. It is not fast.

Ditto the dinky little Smart Fortwo: this one has the non-turbo, 999cc three-pot engine with 70bhp. It will accelerate from 0-62mph in 14.9s. Again, not fast.

The Atom? Um, really, really fast. It's the 3.5R, which gets a full 350bhp, a 0-60mph time of 2.5s and a top speed of 155mph. Proper.

Yes, it might be a no-brainer, but purely for review purposes, we decided to pit them together. Y'know, just to see. Have a watch of the video above to see how it unfolds.

And be sure to check back next week for a very special drag race...

Watch: all of Top Gear's drag races