The E 63 S and RS 6 Avant are both luxury vehicles with twin-turbo V8 muscle, and they’re very similar to each other to the untrained eye. Be that as it may, the quarter-mile showdown tells us a different story.
Our friends at CAR Buyers Guide pitted the Mercedes-AMG sedan against the Audi Sport family hauler on a slightly damp track, and the E 63 appears to lose the race as it struggles to find some traction off the line. Happily for the land missile from Affalterbach, the more luxurious challenger gains valuable ground from just around 100 kph (62 mph) until the finish line.
Available in the guise of a station wagon as well, the E 63 sedan has two clear advantages over the RS 6, starting with the curb weight. We also have to mention the 4.0-liter V8 with a hot-vee layout for the snails, which offers a little more horsepower and torque compared to the four-ringed longroof.
Refreshed for the 2021 model year, the Mercedes flaunts 612 PS (604 horsepower) from 5,750 to 6,500 revolutions per minute and 850 Nm (627 pound-feet) of peak torque from 2,500 to 4,500 rpm. Audi, meanwhile, quotes 600 PS (592 horsepower) from 6,000 to 6,250 rpm and 800 Nm (590 pound-feet) of oomph over a slightly broader curve (2,050 to 4,500 rpm).
It’s also important for us to mention the drag coefficient, which is better for the AMG at 0.32 versus 0.35 for the roomier car. There’s no denying this drag race could’ve been very different if the E 63 was a wagon, but a win is a win and neither model has been developed for straight-line domination.
Over in the United States where longroofs are a dying breed, the RS 6 can be yours from $109,000 excluding destination charge and options. The E 63 S wagon is a little costlier at $112,450 at the time of writing, but the sedan featured in this video undercuts the Audi with a sticker price of $107,500.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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