Thabiso Malimela
Unlike the title of this article, explaining why these three cars set the automotive world alight needs not a mouthful. While there are many cars out there that can do what Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have done in this segment, one has to admit that there is a reason why when one is looking to purchase a car of this kind, they find themselves in one of these three German dealerships.
The truth is, no manufacturer will execute such a broad design brief in a way that most if not all factors are considered and duly dealt with. You can even sense this attention to detail and perfectionist touch way down the food chain, namely in the A-Class, A3 and 1-series (for the sake of argument, we’ll ignore the Volkswagen Golf). Only now, the design brief calls for something more than just build quality, luxury and style – we now have the need for speed! Of course, for speed, you need power – lots of it! And with the Audi RS5, BMW M4 Competition Pack and Mercedes-AMG C63 S, you have plenty of it.
It’s interesting to see how all three German manufacturers have approached the same task in three unique ways. In the Audi Sport corner, we have the RS5 which bears a 2.9 litre twin-turbocharged V6 churning out 331 kW and 600 N.m of torque. Power is sent to all four corners via Audi’s notorious Quattro all-wheel drive, which rises to the occasion in low grip conditions such as wet roads. The 0-100 km/h sprint is dealt with in 3.9 seconds and onward to a top speed of 250 km/h. The RS5 easily stands out as the most subtle and sensible of the three cars and most would likely prefer it for daily use. However with that being said, in the right colour at least, it still manages to draw some attention for itself without being conspicuous.
From BMW and the M division, we have the M4, doused with some extra sauce in the form of the Competition Pack (CP), which costs R137 100 to add to your standard M4. What this means is that the car that was already the most track focused of the three, is even more track focused now (and that’s even before we get to the M4 CS and GTS). Gone are the throaty and high-revving naturally aspirated BMWs of old – the M4 CP comes with a rather raspy sounding 3.0 litre straight/in-line 6-cylinder with two turbochargers strapped onto its hot side. The by-product of this is 331 kW and 550 N.m of torque, along with a 0-100 km/h time of 4.0 seconds and a top speed of 280 km/h. Power travels down the spine of the car through a masterful 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox and electronic differential before reaching the rear wheels. For the company that started this specific segment with the legendary E30, a lot is to be said about how far they’ve strayed from their “path” although one has to concede to the utter brilliance that is to be found in the M4.
Ever since Mercedes-Benz formally inducted their in-house tuning company AMG, a noticeable trend started to arise from any car bearing the Mercedes-AMG name – they were all suddenly good in all the ways that mattered and the performance gap between it and its rivals was effectively nullified. To capture the true spirit of AMG in the midst of all the downsizing brought on by ever-so tightening emission regulations, the C63 S is endowed with a 4.0 litre twin-turbocharged V8 behemoth that churns out 375 kW and scarcely believable 700 N.m of torque – you might need to factor in tyre costs into your monthly budget if you find yourself with one of these. All that V8 chaos goes through a 7-speed torque converter automatic gearbox and electronically controlled differential before it arrives to the rear wheels in a cloud of tyre smoke. The AMG C63 S (‘S’ for ‘Spicy’) will do the 0-100 km/h sprint in 3.9 seconds, but as we’ll see in the video, that’s easier said than done. “Wait a second, what video?”
Riiiight! The video! cars.co.za recently did a two-part track battle where all three of the cars mentioned above went head-to-head….to head. It was interesting to see the outcomes of the unique qualities each car bears and the sort of strengths and weaknesses one had over the others. Well, I think I’ve said enough already without revealing some spoilers, so you can now watch and enjoy the video(s).
Highlights
Audi RS5
- 2.9 litre TFSI V6 Biturbo (petrol)
- 331 kW
- 600 Nm
- 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds
- Top speed 250 km/h (can be increased to 280 km/h)
- Fuel consumption combined: 8.7 l/100km
- CO₂ emission combined: 197 g/km¹
- Price: R 1 299 800
BMW M4 Competition Pack
- 3.0-litre M TwinPower Turbo inline 6-cylinder petrol engine
- 331 kW
- 550 N.m
- 0 to 100 km/h in 4.0 seconds
- Top speed 280 km/h
- Fuel consumption combined: 8.3 l/100km
- CO₂ emission combined: 194 g/km¹
- Price: R 1 462 161
Mercedes-AMG C63 S
- 4.0-litre M177 twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine
- 375 kW
- 700 N.m
- 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds
- Top speed 250 km/h (can be increased to 290 km/h)
- Fuel consumption combined: 8.9 l/100km
- CO₂ emission combined: 209 g/km¹
- Price: R 1 522 338
