30.06.2008
The video feature of our track comparison is now available.
Audi RS6 vs Mercedes C63 AMG at Silverstone
There are a few sound issues within this video that we are aware of, but hopefully you find the conclusions of this unusual test as interesting as we did.
About Eds
Tell us what you think..
When you post a comment, it will also appear in your News Feed on Facebook (if you so choose), enabling you to take the conversation to where your friends already are. Thereafter you can continue discussing on Facebook and the conversations between SkiddMark and Facebook will be auto-magically synched, regardless of where the comment was made.
20 Comments
Alan
July 1, 2008Great video but I cannot help thinking that you are not comparing like with like. Surely the true rival to the RS6 is the E63 which will share some of the weight issues etc. The C63 is well matched and better compared to the M3 and the RS4 and I would love to see you take an RS4 avant around the same track to see how it compares in ‘Audiisms’ to the RS6 and also how much quicker on a track it is to the C63.
If, like me, you are considering an RS6 (although I am continuing to go off the idea), size is an issue (2 kids, 2 dogs and golf clubs) and I don’t think I would go down a size to the C63. The only other size rivals are the M5 and E63. I would love to see that comparison or hear of any alternatives (that are not an SUV !)
Alan
July 1, 2008Great video but I cannot help thinking that you are not comparing like with like. Surely the true rival to the RS6 is the E63 which will share some of the weight issues etc. The C63 is well matched and better compared to the M3 and the RS4 and I would love to see you take an RS4 avant around the same track to see how it compares in ‘Audiisms’ to the RS6 and also how much quicker on a track it is to the C63.
If, like me, you are considering an RS6 (although I am continuing to go off the idea), size is an issue (2 kids, 2 dogs and golf clubs) and I don’t think I would go down a size to the C63. The only other size rivals are the M5 and E63. I would love to see that comparison or hear of any alternatives (that are not an SUV !)
Steve (DR)
July 1, 2008Alan, we toyed with the idea of comparing the RS6 with the E63, but with the high price of the RS6 we thought it more interesting to question if it was possible to achieve many of the RS6′s virtues but in a much cheaper package (more than £20k less)
We realise that many people will still need a car of the RS6′s size, and hence the C63 would not be an option, but with downsizing a continuing topic of discussion it might ‘just’ be an option for some people to consider.
Steve (DR)
July 1, 2008Alan, we toyed with the idea of comparing the RS6 with the E63, but with the high price of the RS6 we thought it more interesting to question if it was possible to achieve many of the RS6′s virtues but in a much cheaper package (more than £20k less)
We realise that many people will still need a car of the RS6′s size, and hence the C63 would not be an option, but with downsizing a continuing topic of discussion it might ‘just’ be an option for some people to consider.
Alan
July 1, 2008Thnaks for the reply Steve and a good point. I tend to agree that downsizing is the way to go and that these heavyweight adn heavyprice estates may not be the answer. Certainly for the same price, ‘downsizing’ to a 530d estate or normal e-class and then having something lighter and faster and more fun (like a Cayman or year old 911) may be the way forward
Alan
July 1, 2008Thnaks for the reply Steve and a good point. I tend to agree that downsizing is the way to go and that these heavyweight adn heavyprice estates may not be the answer. Certainly for the same price, ‘downsizing’ to a 530d estate or normal e-class and then having something lighter and faster and more fun (like a Cayman or year old 911) may be the way forward
Pedro Sousa
July 1, 2008Due to my preference for smaller and also more efficient cars, I’m with DR choosing these two cars for a comparison.
But as you say about the C63 and RS6, I wasn’t expecting this outcome!!
It shows preety well how Audi quattro sistem has improved for years, and how the C63 has, somehow, a disappoiting chassis in terms of track usability.
Pedro Sousa
July 1, 2008Due to my preference for smaller and also more efficient cars, I’m with DR choosing these two cars for a comparison.
But as you say about the C63 and RS6, I wasn’t expecting this outcome!!
It shows preety well how Audi quattro sistem has improved for years, and how the C63 has, somehow, a disappoiting chassis in terms of track usability.
Steve A
July 1, 2008I dont really think that we can take these results with any measurement of accuracy.
The tyres on a car make an enormous difference to performance, and for some very strange reason the C63 is shod with yokos????? average tyres at best compared to the RS6s pirellis, arguably one of the best tyres available.
Last friday i took part in a Mercedes trackday at Donington. (fantastic day btw). The C63 estate had P Zero rossos on and was simply electric to drive. FAstest car of the day around the track( faster than the sl65 and e63) No udersteer to talk of and 120mph-ish through the craner curves!! All chris talked about was understeer?? it has to be the tyres.
Do the retest with the same tyes and ill bet the bank the C63 woops the RS6.
Steve A
July 1, 2008I dont really think that we can take these results with any measurement of accuracy.
The tyres on a car make an enormous difference to performance, and for some very strange reason the C63 is shod with yokos????? average tyres at best compared to the RS6s pirellis, arguably one of the best tyres available.
Last friday i took part in a Mercedes trackday at Donington. (fantastic day btw). The C63 estate had P Zero rossos on and was simply electric to drive. FAstest car of the day around the track( faster than the sl65 and e63) No udersteer to talk of and 120mph-ish through the craner curves!! All chris talked about was understeer?? it has to be the tyres.
Do the retest with the same tyes and ill bet the bank the C63 woops the RS6.
chris harris
July 1, 2008Sadly for Mercedes, it is an accurate test, because the one thing you cannot specify on a new AMG is which O/E tyre your car is delivered with. This one had Yokos, so we had to run the car as it came.
As a counterpoint, I drove the car home that night and thought it was absolutely sensational. The tyre simply isn’t designed to deal with circuit work, but on the road where it doesn’t have to deal with the heat build-up it does a superb job. Jethro was right, it just doesn’t understeer at road driving speeds. At Silverstone, they had already gone-off during the warm-up lap.
Would the C63 on Pirellis nail the Audi? As I pointed out in the vid, I think it would get very close, but I’m nor sure it would get the job done. That Audi was much, much better than anticipated. And it nearly hit 150mph down the hangar Straight. Which is silly for a 2.1 ton estate car.
Bottom line: we have to test what we’re given. Personal conclusion: I think the C63 is stunning.
chris harris
July 1, 2008Sadly for Mercedes, it is an accurate test, because the one thing you cannot specify on a new AMG is which O/E tyre your car is delivered with. This one had Yokos, so we had to run the car as it came.
As a counterpoint, I drove the car home that night and thought it was absolutely sensational. The tyre simply isn’t designed to deal with circuit work, but on the road where it doesn’t have to deal with the heat build-up it does a superb job. Jethro was right, it just doesn’t understeer at road driving speeds. At Silverstone, they had already gone-off during the warm-up lap.
Would the C63 on Pirellis nail the Audi? As I pointed out in the vid, I think it would get very close, but I’m nor sure it would get the job done. That Audi was much, much better than anticipated. And it nearly hit 150mph down the hangar Straight. Which is silly for a 2.1 ton estate car.
Bottom line: we have to test what we’re given. Personal conclusion: I think the C63 is stunning.
Steve (DR)
July 1, 2008There’s no doubt that the C63 is a very fine steed. Having owned one of these 63-engined AMG’s myself in the past I can attest to how wonderful its engine is, and on the road it was more aurally pleasing than Audi’s RS6 – although the RS6 makes a wonderfully ‘pop’ noise on each upchange.
But there was definitely something amiss with the power delivery of the RS6 in those first few gears. Visit any Audi RS forum and you’ll find owners discussing how the engine map of the RS4 is limited in gears 1-3, well the RS6 felt the same. Once above these early cogs, the RS6 picks up with the kind of pace that would be more familiar to a 997 Turbo owner. It is ‘silly-fast’ and clearly quicker than the C63 at those kinds of velocities. However on the road and the speeds most of us drive, the C63 was more eager, agile and downright enjoyable.
It would be a hard choice to make though, downsizing or not, since the way the RS6 hurtles up the road is not to be sneered at and I could easily understand why someone might choose Ingolstadt’s finest for all of its many virtues.
Steve (DR)
July 1, 2008There’s no doubt that the C63 is a very fine steed. Having owned one of these 63-engined AMG’s myself in the past I can attest to how wonderful its engine is, and on the road it was more aurally pleasing than Audi’s RS6 – although the RS6 makes a wonderfully ‘pop’ noise on each upchange.
But there was definitely something amiss with the power delivery of the RS6 in those first few gears. Visit any Audi RS forum and you’ll find owners discussing how the engine map of the RS4 is limited in gears 1-3, well the RS6 felt the same. Once above these early cogs, the RS6 picks up with the kind of pace that would be more familiar to a 997 Turbo owner. It is ‘silly-fast’ and clearly quicker than the C63 at those kinds of velocities. However on the road and the speeds most of us drive, the C63 was more eager, agile and downright enjoyable.
It would be a hard choice to make though, downsizing or not, since the way the RS6 hurtles up the road is not to be sneered at and I could easily understand why someone might choose Ingolstadt’s finest for all of its many virtues.
Steve A
July 1, 2008Chris
I undersatand you test what you’re given and i very much enjoyed the vid.
Howevder i feel the cars matched up really well in all areas and one of them IMO clearly had a disadvantage. If a 100m sprinter had shoes with a diffective sole he would be less effective…
Steve A
July 1, 2008Chris
I undersatand you test what you’re given and i very much enjoyed the vid.
Howevder i feel the cars matched up really well in all areas and one of them IMO clearly had a disadvantage. If a 100m sprinter had shoes with a diffective sole he would be less effective…
Steve A
July 3, 2008Chris
what was the top speed of the c63 down the hanger straight?
Steve A
July 3, 2008Chris
what was the top speed of the c63 down the hanger straight?
waremark
July 8, 2008The C63 saloon is available with a sports pack which gives you sports suspension and an LSD. Presumably that would make it quicker on track??
When the Stig tested M3/C63/RS4 at Ascari, the M3 was 5 secs faster than the C63 and RS4, which had almost identical times. We had no details of tyres or specs. So how would the M3 have done against the RS6?
waremark
July 8, 2008The C63 saloon is available with a sports pack which gives you sports suspension and an LSD. Presumably that would make it quicker on track??
When the Stig tested M3/C63/RS4 at Ascari, the M3 was 5 secs faster than the C63 and RS4, which had almost identical times. We had no details of tyres or specs. So how would the M3 have done against the RS6?