BMW M3 Coupe 07
VS
Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG 08
In this second comparison review two German cars will battle it out to decide which one is the best. The M3 will go in this challenge as my favorite. I always loved this car. Never had the chance to drive one in real life, but was lucky enough to sit in the passenger seat a couple of times. Funny enough the person that owned that M3 now owns a C 63 AMG. But he has the coupe version. Its been a while since Ive used the cars in the game. From what I remember from the C 63 it likes to slide. But that could be because I used it when I just started the game. The following test should give a more accurate insight of the cars handling. This is a comparison review so the tests will decide which one I think is the better car.
SPECS
BMW M3 Coupe
Max Power: 429 hp at 8500 rpm
Max Torque: 407 Nm at 4000 rpm
Weight: 1655 kg
Performance Points: 491
Sport Hard tyres
Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG
Max Power: 465 hp at 7000 rpm
Max Torque: 610 Nm at 5000 rpm
Weight: 1730 kg
Performance Points: 502
Sport Hard tyres
LOOKS
They are both great looking cars. The front of the C 63 looks more aggressive. From the side the M3 just looks better. Probably because its the coupe model. They both look great from the back. Four exhausts does wonders on most cars. I like the shark fin antenna of the BMW cars and the roof of the M3 looks good too. Especially since Ive painted the car white. Im giving the M3 the point for this test.
M3 1-0 C 63
SOUND
The C 63 is the clear winner when it comes to sound. The sound of the C 63 sounds louder and more aggressive. The M3s sounds a bit whiny after a while.
M3 1-1 C 63
TESTS
Test 1: Route X Drag Race and Speed Tests
Another comparison review so another drag race. If you look at the specs you know there is only one that can win this race. The C 63 has over 30 hp more and 50% more torque. But there is only one way to find out for sure so we line up for a 1000m race and take off.
Just after 100 meter the M3 is slightly in the lead after the C 63 had more wheel spin taking off.
After 400 meters the C 63 pulled away and has a nice gap.
After 700 meters the gap has remained practically the same with the C 63 still strong in the lead.
At the finish the C 63 made the gap a bit bigger finishing at 237 km/h and the M3 follows with 232 km/h.
The two German friends ride together for a while.
Until the C 63 gives the final blow and continues alone.
And here are the results from the speed tests. As you can see the differences arent that big. The M3 wins in top speed. Mainly because of better balanced gears. The 6th gear of the C 63 comes too late and cant be used to its full potential. I got the best results with the M3 shifting just after the red line. The C 63 bounces of the limiter quickly after the red line so watch out with shifting.
BMW M3 Coupe
- Top Speed: 305,7 km/h
- 0-400m: 13,357 s.
- 0-1000m: 23,702 s.
- 0-100km/h: 5,168 s.
- 0-200km/h: 16,790 s.
- Max G-force: 0,71 g
Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG
- Top Speed: 301,0 km/h
- 0-400m: 13,270 s.
- 0-1000m: 23,335 s.
- 0-100km/h: 5,064 s.
- 0-200km/h: 15,608 s.
- Max G-force: 0,64 g
M3 1-2 C 63
Test 2: Nurburgring Variable Weather/Time lap time
The cars have come home to the Nordschleife. First up is the M3. There is no rain or surface water. In the first sector I need to get used to the car but it is very forgiving. Flugplatz needed some braking and about halfway through you can go full throttle. Schwedenkreuz also needed a bit of braking but I went trhough it with 210 km/h which is really fast. The brakes are good enough to get through the next corner.
At the chicane after going uphill you can go accelerate out of the corners full throttle. It oversteers slightly. But a short countersteer solves it immediately. The next minutes are filled with great corners to take in this car. Its really a pleasure to drive. It is so easy to take around the corners and you always have the feeling that youre in complete control. The back slides a little bit in the corner before Karussel but no losing control in this car. I braked a bit too late for Karussel so I couldnt stay on the banking. Still get a good exit and carry on.
The section after Karussel tests all cars handling. The M3 is very easy to drive through it. Even in the corners where you need to change your direction fast it just follows the line you want with minimal braking needed. It gets on to the straight with full power. I braked really late for the last corners and the car was still stable and finished the lap in: 7:55,714
And now the C 63. Quickly you can feel the difference in the handling. I exit the first turn with some oversteer. It has some problems in the slow corners in sector 1. But its quite easy to control so its fun. Went on the throttle in Flugplatz quicker than in the M3 and even though you can hear the rear tyres slipping it takes the corner perfect. I have a bad line on the inside of Schwedenkreuz so I cant take it at full speed. It still takes it with 190 km/h and combined with full throttle I exit it at the same speed as the M3. The outer tyres get red as I brake hard for the next corner.
In the high speed corners that follow the car is very stable and you can take them at full speed. The C 63 doesnt show the oversteer the M3 had in the chicane. I think that was because I was cautious with the throttle. The long downhill right hander is very easy to take in this car. Where the M3 needed some work with the throttle the C 63 can take it with full power. Maybe thats because a braked a bit earlier. It does show some oversteer while exiting the slow corners at the bottom.
The C 63s back slides away the same as the M3 in the corner before Karussel. I do brake in time for Karussel this time and the exit is nice and clean. In the sector after Karussel it needs a lot more work on the throttle than with the M3. In one of the downhill corners the back begins to slide and it results in a nice controlled drift throughout the entire corner. I need to let go of the throttle a bit before entering the straight. I dont have the courage to brake as late as in the M3 because I feel the car is not as stable. Some oversteer in the final corners and it finished the lap in: 7:55,685
Deciding who won this challenge was hard. First of all because of the lap times. Only 29 thousands of a second separated them after almost 21 kilometers. They also were both fun to drive in their own way. The M3 was easier to drive and could really be taken to its limits. The C 63 was fun because of the pure feeling of power and the occasional slides through some corners. So I let the handling be the deciding factor for this challenge. The M3 is the better handling car. It is easier to control and only slides when you take it too far.
M3 2-2 C 63
Test 3: Overpowered Taxis in Tokyo
Mercedes and BMW cars are used a lot as taxi cars in The Netherlands. Of course they dont use these versions of the cars. But older and the less powerful versions of the 3 series and the C-class are used a lot. These cars could be used as some overpowered taxis. The M3 coupe model probably isnt the most practical of the two but it seems fun to try.
Let me explain the concept of this challenge. The taxi driver gets a call while speeding over the starting line in Tokyo and needs to pick up a passenger at the stadium. The car needs to stop to 0 km/h at the first yellow guardrail in the long right corner and then get as fast as he can to the finish line. But at the second split time the passenger finds out he forgot his luggage so a handbrake U-turn is needed to get back to the stadium. After another complete stop the driver needs to turn around and this time race to the finish line. The fastest wins this challenge.
The C 63 is up first. I have some problems with oversteer in the exits of the first couple of corners. I get to the stadium and brake maybe a bit too early. I still stop at the first sign and take off again. I accelerate through the long right hander only letting go off the throttle for a second. This causes some oversteer again but it is controllable.
The second split time shows and I use the handbrake and normal brake to turn around. It takes a while to get going again because of the wheelspin. I almost never race on Tokyo Reverse so Im cautious in the following corners. After stopping at the stadium again the car turns around pretty quick and races to the finish line and sets a time of 3:27,459
Next up the M3. The car is very fast through the first corners and comes to a complete stop at the sign. The long corner is easy to take with full throttle. It is a lot easier to make the u-turn in this car. The rear wheels also get grip back sooner so accelerating after the stops was faster. The long corner is no trouble again. The section after the second split is much easier in this car. The C 63 had some problems with oversteer there but this car is very stable throughout all of the last corners and fnishes after 3:22,553
The M3 won this challenge. It beat the C 63 with over 5 seconds. The M3 was just the easier car to drive on this track. It flew through the corners and it didnt take too much time doing the u-turn.
M3 3-2 C 63
Test 5: Top Gear Test Track Power Lap
Time for the final test. The C 63 will have to win this one. It has some wheelspin taking off. Some oversteer in the first corner but easy to control so it doesnt slide. Some more in the exit of Chicago which made me exit on the outside. Brake late for Hammerhead barely keeping the clean lap. It caused a bad line but it exits quite good. Very short brake before Bentley followed by full throttle which made me slide through it. Full speed past the tyres onto the straight. Nice line through the last corners and across the line in: 1:22,586
The M3 takes off with less wheelspin. Nice inside line through the first corner. Went on the throttle too quick causing some oversteer. Very controlled through Chicago. About the same line as the C 63 through Hammerhead, but it exits without oversteer. Also a little braking before Bentley but the M3 doesnt slide. Full speed onto the straight. Braked too early for the second to last corner so lost some speed. No problems in the final corners so I accelerate full speed exiting the last causing me to slide across the line in: 1:22,597
Again very close lap times. The power of the C 63 is good enough to make up for the handling problems it had. Its a tie and the car ratings will decide which one wins.
M3 3-3 C 63
CONCLUSION
This is a tough decision. Both cars were fast, fun to drive and had good handling. The C 63 is the faster one. Well the M3 beat it in top speed but everything before that and the C 63 will beat it. When we did the drag race we drove next to eachother like you see in the photos and then took off full throttle at the same speed. The C 63 got away a lot faster doing this aswell.
The M3 is the better car through the corners. It handles really well. Its a great car for the Nurburgring since you can drive it as fast as you want without losing control of it. The C 63 is a bit more fun. The M3 feels like a great time trial car but the C 63 also has some moments where you need to do some work to keep it in the lines. All this factors made sure that these two cars were very matched to eachother. 29 Thousands of a second difference at the Nordschleife and 11 thousands of a second on the TGTT. The taxi test showed that the M3 is easier to control when doing strange things with it. I rated the cars as following and the M3 came out the winner.
BMW M3 Coupe 07
Looks: 8.5/10
Handling: 8.5/10
Fun: 8/10
Total: 8.3/10
Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG 08
Looks: 8/10
Handling: 7/10
Fun: 8.5/10
Total: 7.8/10
Final Score
BMW M3 Coupe 07 4-3 Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG 08
