Now that the all-new BMW M3 and M4 have had their press launches, a number of media outlets out there have started to deliver their reviews about the new land missiles from Munich, while others have already jumped at making comparisons with the models' rivals.
Among the latter is Autocar's Steve Sutcliffe, who got ahold of a Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG Coupe Edition 507 and brought it along exactly where he test drove the new BMW M4 in order to compare the two.
While the comparison itself is wrong on so many levels – starting with the age of the two models and ending with the fact that each one was developed for a completely different type of customer – we couldn't help but watch and hear Steve Sutcliffe's opinion of the two sports coupes side by side.
Succumbing under a new green wave that is slowly taking over most car manufacturers, the new BMW M4 is powered by an inline six cylinder engine with two turbochargers, replacing the high-revving and naturally-aspirated V8 of the previous model (M3 Coupe, ed).
Despite two less cylinders and one whole liter of displacement less, the new model deliver 431 hp (425 bhp) and 550 Nm (406 lb ft) of torque, mainly thanks to the intake pressure provided by the two turbochargers.
While those figures may scream “great news!” in all kinds of languages, they still aren't enough to tower the power figures of the Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG Coupe Edition 507.
As its name conveniently implies, the Edition 507 has precisely 507 hp, with the 6.2-liter naturally-aspirated V8 also developing 610 Nm (450 lb ft) of torque – both figures pretty much annihilating the twin-turbocharged BMW engine.
The comparison between the two shouldn't be about the numbers though, especially since the C 63 AMG Coupe in question is a special edition model. On top of it, the two cars are massively different in terms of weight as well, which along with the faster transmission gives the BMW M4 the edge in terms of straight line performance.
No, the comparison between the two actually goes down to the amount of soul that the digital and modern Bavarian seems to lack against the more analog and old-school Swabian. In the end, Sutcliffe seems to prefer the brassy V8 burble of the AMG over the new gadgety but otherwise almost soulless BMW M4, despite the fact that most of his opinions are based on wrong specifications.
For example, the weight difference between the two is actually 118 kg (260 pounds) in favor of the M4, and not the quoted 207 kg (456 pounds), while the C 63 AMG has never used a dual clutch transmission, as Steve erroneously believes. With that being said, which one would you choose?
Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project. Full profile
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