To be discontinued after 2023 due to abysmally poor sales, the Audi TT was produced over three generations. From the very beginning, the Volkswagen Group offered four- and six-cylinder engine options. The introduction of the Audi TT RS in 2009 saw the German automaker spruce things up with a turbocharged five-cylinder lump, an engine shared with the RS 3 hatchback and sedan.
Pictured in red, the two-door coupe in the featured clip also rocks the 2.5-liter I5 that helps the TT RS stand out from every single competitor in the segment. Rated at 400 ps and 480 Nm (make that 394 horsepower and 480 Nm) of torque, said engine drives all four wheels by means of Haldex-type quattro and the S tronic 7-speed DCT (a.k.a. DSG in the Volkswagen Golf R).
Weighing it at 1,515 kilograms or 3,340 pounds, the fabulous-looking TT RS is joined by a mid-size luxury sedan with sporting credentials. Enter the Mercedes-AMG E 63 S 4MATIC+, a twin-turbo V8 land missile that weighs quite a bit more than the compact-sized Audi. The folks at KaRace list this example of the breed at 1,990 kilograms, meaning 4,387 pounds in the imperial system.
Quite a bit porkier than the TT RS, the E 63 is extremely different in many aspects. From the longitudinally-mounted engine to its all-wheel-drive system with selectable rear-wheel drive and multi-clutch transmission, they’re worlds apart. You could say that for the pricing as well, but on the other hand, what did you expect?
The Merc boasts a hand-assembled engine with tons of torque, a 4.0-liter V8 with a hot-vee setup to reduce turbo lag. Developed by AMG, said engine develops 612 ps (603 horsepower) and 850 Nm (627 pound-feet) of tire-shredding torque. Although more powerful versions of the M177 do exist (think Aston Martin DBX707), these numbers are adequate for an E-segment sedan.
Photo: KaRace on YouTube
Be that as it may, one needs to be fully awake to use that kind of power and torque effectively in a quarter-mile showdown. The driver of this E 63 appears to have been sleeping at the wheel at the start of the first of two drag races, which is why the TT RS easily asserted dominance with far less power and torque to its name. In the second race, however, the E 63 showed the Audi who’s boss.
The Merc recorded 11.10 seconds in the quarter-mile as opposed to 11.18 seconds for the Audi. From a standstill to the magical figure of 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour), the E 63 S took 3.36 seconds compared to 3.43 for the compact-sized coupe. Rather than ending it here, KaRace also tested these vehicles from a rolling start.
Once again with a feeling, the E-Klasse made easy work of the Audi. The pull from 100 to 200 kilometers per hour (124 miles per hour) was dealt with in precisely 7.59 seconds by the Mercedes, while the TT RS required 7.82 seconds.
Audi will replace its long-running TT with an “emotive model” in the same price range, most likely an electric utility vehicle with a swoopy roofline. As for the E 63, the 214 series may get a turbocharged inline-six engine in combination with hybrid assistance. Plug-in hybrid, that is, because the four-cylinder C 63 is a PHEV as well.
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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