Mercedes-Benz S 63 AMG 4Matic vs Audi S8 Speedometer Battle

The official numbers dictate that it should reach 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standing start in just 3.9 seconds, which is downright amazing if you think that those kind of figures were reserved for proper supercars back in the 1990s, not for two tons of aluminium, steel, leather and chrome with massaging seats.

Sure, automotive performance technology has evolved exponentially in the past few years, but it is still an almost unbelievable feat if you think about it from a broader point of view, so that you can also incorporate cars that were considered blindingly fast just a few decades ago.

A major part of the current S 63 AMG 4Matic acceleration equation is represented by the hand-built, twin-turbocharged V8 underneath its sculpted aluminium hood, which develops no less than 585 hp and 900 Nm (664 lb ft) of torque.

The other bit consists of the AMG-tuned 4Matic all-wheel drive system which gives the model the grip that it needs to put the aforementioned numbers down.

On the other hand, the Mercedes-Benz S 63 AMG 4Matic is not a lonely soul in its segment, with Audi's quattro GmbH division also pitting the all-wheel driven S8 against it.

With a twin-turbocharged four-liter V8 that develops 520 hp and 650 Nm (479 lb ft) of torque at its disposal, the Audi S8 can officially hit 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standing start just 0.2 seconds later than the S 63 AMG 4Matic.

These are the official manufacturer numbers, but how do they stack up against each other in real life? Well, the following video might give some of you a clue, despite the fact that it only involves the cars' speedometers.