RS5 v M4 Comp Pack v C 63 S

RS5 v M4 Comp BMW’s M4 has been refreshed and Audi India is bringing a new RS5 that does the numbers to put the frighteners on a full-blown supercar, but can either see off our favourite supercoupe, the Mercedes-AMG C 63 S? We’ve put down 5000km on road and track to get the answer

- James Disdale

THE DRIVE

The three coupes head out for an in-depth on-road assessment

THIS IS SHAPING UP TO BE A bruising encounter. Lighter, faster and more agile than before the new Audi RS5 has got the recently revised BMW M4 Competition Package and hard-hitting Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe firmly in its sights.

The last RS5 was depressingly underwhelming. Its glorious naturally aspirated engine and elegantly enhanced shape promised much, but it was undermined by a chassis that did not deliver the sort of poise and grace you’d expect. Audi’s riposte has been to shave 60kg from the new model with the help of the firm’s scalable MLB architecture, while a heart transplant means a new, 444bhp twin-turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 replaces the V8. It’s mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox and a faster-reacting four-wheel-drive system.

The 2018 model-year BMW M4 looks much the same as before, with a body that’s ripped with barely contained muscle and a stance that says ‘come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough’. There are reprofiled headlamps and new light signatures for the tail lights, but in all other respects this supercoupe’s looks have been left well alone.

Our test car here has the Competition Package launced at the 2018 Auto Expo, which adds 19bhp to the familiar blown straight-six for an RS5-equalling 444bhp and also brings stiffened and lowered suspension, thicker anti-roll bars, adaptive dampers and an additional front splitter.