Atko is back at the track! This time he's igniting tyres on the 2021 BMW M4 Competition and the 2021 Mercedes-AMG C63 S to figure out which is quicker and why.
Unlike some track tests where it just comes down to a lap time, former World Rally Championship driver Chris Atkinson gives us the lowdown on how the cars drive and why they perform the way they do.
Lap time leaderboard: https://www.carexpert.com.au/lap-times/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=review&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=other-video
More BMW content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/bmw
More BMW M4 content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/bmw/m4
More Mercedes-Benz content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/mercedes-benz
More Mercedes-AMG C63 S content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/mercedes-amg/c
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
C63 S Impressions: 00:36
C63 S Hot lap: 06:15
M4 Comp Impressions: 06:15
M4 Comp Hot lap: 07:28
Result and verdict: 14:44
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
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#bmw #mercedes #m4 #c63 #review #track
Unlike some track tests where it just comes down to a lap time, former World Rally Championship driver Chris Atkinson gives us the lowdown on how the cars drive and why they perform the way they do.
Lap time leaderboard: https://www.carexpert.com.au/lap-times/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=review&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=other-video
More BMW content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/bmw
More BMW M4 content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/bmw/m4
More Mercedes-Benz content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/mercedes-benz
More Mercedes-AMG C63 S content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/mercedes-amg/c
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
C63 S Impressions: 00:36
C63 S Hot lap: 06:15
M4 Comp Impressions: 06:15
M4 Comp Hot lap: 07:28
Result and verdict: 14:44
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1
You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.
Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!
Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!
CarExpert:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarExpertAus
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carexpert.com.au
Paul Maric:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulMaric
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PaulMaric
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaulMaric
#bmw #mercedes #m4 #c63 #review #track
Category
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MotorTranscript
00:00 Hey guys, Atko here and we're at Queensland Raceway, our test track.
00:03 Today we've got an iconic rivalry between BMW and Mercedes.
00:07 We've got the C63 AMG S and the BMW M4 Competition.
00:12 Both these cars are rear-wheel drive monsters with 375 kilowatts of power, 700 newton metres
00:18 of torque in the AMG and 650 in the BMW.
00:21 This is a chance for the final V8 version of the C63 to take it to the new M4 until
00:26 the changes that happen next year with this going hybrid power come into effect.
00:31 I expect this to be a close battle but let's get on the track and see how quick they are.
00:35 Alright, we already know the C63 is a rear-wheel drive monster.
00:44 It doesn't take much to show that.
00:48 This thing is crazy.
00:55 Alright, initial impressions.
00:57 Seating position is actually really good, I really like it.
01:00 Nicely placed in the car, pretty good support and it's comfortable for everyday use as well
01:03 so I don't think there's any issues there.
01:05 Absolutely love the wheel, the Alcantara finish with the carbon.
01:10 Paddles are in a good position.
01:11 I don't mind the dash, I'd probably like something a little bit more racy, like for track work.
01:20 It's fine, you can see the rev needle very easily and I like the shift light, it's nice
01:25 and subtle but you can really clearly see it when you need to shift.
01:29 Now the engine is the key part of this car, that V8 twin turbo, 375 kilowatts and 700
01:49 Newton metres of torque so it's just power.
01:53 As soon as you ask for it, it's there.
01:59 It's almost too easy to slide, it's ridiculous.
02:02 It's just got power like the whole way, super drivable.
02:06 You can basically be in any gear and just put the power down and she goes.
02:11 And it's almost smart to be upper gear it seems, if you're in too low a gear it will
02:16 just snap on you like that, where pick the gear, get the traction and go.
02:22 So it seems a smart play with this engine and I feel like I'm so traction limited, like
02:27 that's going to be the killer for this car that I'm just chasing that rear the whole
02:32 time.
02:33 So the gearbox actually feels pretty good, no real complaints and the differential just
02:39 comes together nicely, like I don't feel any steps there.
02:42 It grabs the slip nice and early, like you really don't get any inside wheel slip, you
02:46 just pretty much lock the wheels straight together.
02:49 So that's fine, it's a 9 speed multi clutch transmission which is somewhere between a
02:55 dual clutch and a normal automatic but it feels super quick.
03:00 The suspension, I've messed around between the sports plus and sports setting and on
03:08 this track which has a few bumps, I think the quicker setting will be the sports but
03:12 I don't think there's a lot in it.
03:14 I really feel like I want the car to squat a little bit more in the rear and even in
03:18 the sports setting to be honest it doesn't really squat that much and I think that's
03:22 why it's so easy to drift, like you can drift it no worries at all but I'm worried that
03:26 I'm not going to be able to get the power down quick enough off the corners and really
03:34 fire forward.
03:35 I feel like I'm just sitting a little bit up high in the rear and not squatting and
03:38 shooting off the corners.
03:40 Now the brakes, it's got the carbon brakes on it, let's test them out.
03:46 Stops okay, the carbon brakes I probably expect a little more and I guess my main complaint
03:51 there is that the pedal's just a little bit long, I want a firmer pedal so that I can
03:56 really modulate it and I feel like when I push hard, I'm not getting the ABS affecting
04:01 it really too much at all but I just, I don't have complete confidence so maybe a little
04:07 negative there.
04:08 The tyres are the Michelin Pilot Super Sports and just laterally are going to miss out to
04:15 the Cup 2's on the M4, it's just inevitable that that's going to happen.
04:20 So the AMG is going to have its work cut out to match it, it's got to do everything else
04:24 impeccable to probably keep up and I'd say it's going to be one of the first couple of
04:29 laps because I think the tyres will just drop away after a few laps and you'll be just missing
04:35 that outright grip, the performance.
04:38 Alright we know it oversteers, that's no worries, so good, it's just so easy to slide, it's
04:48 like 20% throttle and it'll slide.
04:53 Haha that's so cool, well it ticks that box, if you want to drift it, no worries at all.
05:00 I love this traction control option in this car as well, I've got it completely off now
05:06 but for the lap time I reckon I'll run it around 7 or 6 position, so some help but not
05:14 restricting me at all.
05:15 Let's try and slide it in that position and see if it makes any real difference, whether
05:21 it cuts in.
05:25 That's cool, so I'm hard into the throttle, I'm slightly yawed but I can continue to hold
05:30 the slide, yeah so that seems spot on.
05:33 Let's go up to 8, see what we can get away with in 8.
05:41 So it just gets away with a little bit more in 8 but to be fair that 6 position feels
05:46 pretty good and it's probably where I'll hit the laps at.
05:50 Alright it's time to get serious and see what sort of lap time we can get out of this
05:55 C63.
05:56 I've gone race mode everything except the suspension I'm going just in sport mode, manual
06:02 transmission master dynamics and then traction control on level 6 but ESP completely off
06:08 so it'll catch some slide but only on throttle.
06:12 Alright let's start this hot lap and see what time she does.
06:34 Alright, let's go.
06:59 Alright, let's go.
07:24 This thing is fun.
07:33 Alright so first impressions of the M4 and wow this is just a completely different interior
07:38 to the C63, it's crazy the difference but in a good way for the track and first these
07:43 seats, they are absolutely unreal, they are maybe my favourite seats I've ever been in
07:47 a road car on a track.
07:49 They're comfortable, I feel like I'm down low and angled back and the support, like
07:53 I just don't move, it's just completely locked in and you really feel connected to the car
07:58 in a way.
07:59 I also like the fact that you've got the headrest that you can remove the piece so the helmet
08:02 can go right back so there's no restriction, my helmet's not hitting anything there and
08:07 obviously put that pad back in when you go back out on the road so you can see their
08:10 thought about this car being on the track.
08:13 Now the wheel, the wheel's maybe my least favourite part of the interior, it's just
08:16 a little bit chunkier than I like on the track and also the fact that it's leather and not
08:20 Alcantara so after a few laps and I start to sweat on the palms which is my own issue
08:25 anyway but they just slip around a little bit and some people like it, some people don't,
08:30 I prefer the Alcantara but the paddle shifts are great, the big carbon paddles, really
08:35 long, really clear and textured on the back as well so you can grab them, feel exactly
08:40 where they are, you don't even really think about it, they're just easy to grab and flick
08:43 and perfect, no issues there at all.
08:45 I really like the dash as well, super clear, the shift lights when you're in M modes then
08:52 it pops up at the top, the shift lights come together at the top, you know exactly when
08:55 to shift and like I mentioned the M modes, that's one of my favourite things as well
09:00 is that you can preset everything, M1 and M2 and then go on the track and choose between
09:04 the two settings.
09:05 So now I'll pick up the pace a little bit, see how it feels, the engine, the transmission,
09:12 it's twitchy as well, almost as reactive as that C63, the engine's identical power numbers,
09:23 slightly different torque numbers, this feels just a bit peakier, a little bit sharper and
09:27 just revs out a little bit more, still very drivable, I can just feed in the power how
09:33 I want, if I wanted to slide I just up the power and she comes round, this thing is quick.
09:40 Now the transmission, they've actually gone back to a normal sports automatic and got
09:57 rid of the dual clutch out of the previous generation M4 and it might be great on the
10:03 road, through the car parks, things like that, but it just feels a little bit sluggish on
10:09 the track compared to a dual clutch, just like you'd expect more, more urgency, more
10:13 of a bang and I'd say the C63 wins in that stake, even though it's not a dual clutch,
10:19 the gearbox just feels that little bit more responsive, that little quicker and just a
10:24 little bit more engaging, so I'd give the transmission to the C63 but this is not a
10:29 huge negative with this car, it's still very usable and very useful on the track.
10:33 The rear differential, I like the feel of it, I feel like it's got really subtle control
10:39 over the locking, you can just take it to the edge and you can feel the locking coming
10:44 and it doesn't slam shut, it just softens the slip and then if you ask more then it
10:49 grabs it, so it's really nice how it can just manage that power, manage the torque and you
10:56 can just stay there on a slight angle, straighten up and go and I think for doing a lap time,
11:01 that fine detail, that slow subtle catching of the power and torque is what makes the
11:07 difference between a super quick car and a quick car.
11:10 Now the handling of this M4 is, I'd have to say my initial feelings is incredible, it's
11:18 such an amazing package this thing, it's so well connected, absolutely love the dampers,
11:23 the way they work, the support and the subtleness and what I can get away with as well, I can
11:29 really ride the kerbs, doesn't react too much with the C63 is a little bit more reactive
11:34 on the kerbs, still got to be controlling on the throttle, you can't just step on it
11:38 but if you nail that throttle delivery, it just settles nicely and shoots off the corner
11:43 where the C63 just sits a little bit firmer in the rear, makes it easy to drift but then
11:49 makes it a little bit harder to control at the same time and that's where this maybe
11:53 gains a fraction of the time off the corner.
11:55 Now you think with them both being carbon ceramic brakes that it would be a close call
11:59 between the two but the M4 absolutely blows the C63 away in braking terms, it's so much
12:06 more consistent and the stopping control and modulation is incredible, you can just slam
12:12 on the brakes pretty much as hard as you want there and I can just off the brakes nicely
12:17 into the corner without any issue.
12:19 The C63 with that extra bit of travel, I just can't modulate the brake as well and you just
12:25 can't quite trust it.
12:27 This I feel like I'm basically in a race car with a slightly assisted brake, it's insane
12:32 how good these brakes are on the track.
12:34 Now as I mentioned this car's got the Michelin Cup 2's which basically gives us nearly a
12:41 second advantage straight off the bat over the C63, that's the way it is, there's nothing
12:46 that beats grip and the lateral grip from these tyres is excellent as well as the consistency.
12:51 With the C63 you just feel like after a lap they just drop away a little bit where these
12:56 Cup 2's hang on a lot longer and you also notice with the Cup 2's that you've got to
13:02 warm them up a little bit more as well so it takes a good out lap to get that feeling
13:06 of the grip coming up, building up the temperature so you know those tyres are thought of as
13:11 a track tyre in a way and does give an upper hand to the M4 that's for sure.
13:17 Alright now let's take it to the limit and see how it feels there.
13:20 We know the C63 loves to oversteer.
13:22 So does this by the looks of it, a little bit harder to hold a slide I would say, being
13:33 a peak year engine it's not as easy but it still doesn't mind to oversteer.
13:40 I'd say it's a little bit more balanced into the corner, it feels a little bit more connected,
13:44 the front, the feedback is unreal, the steering's not great but the actual feedback from the
13:49 chassis is unreal, I can just drive to the edge of the tyre, slight understeer and then
13:53 slight bit of oversteer off the corner, man that is ideal, that is really well balanced
14:00 for a road car.
14:01 The fact that I can do both again, that's so critical on a track.
14:05 You don't want it to be too biased one way and this, although it's a slightly oversteery
14:09 car you can still make it understeer if you want and then make it oversteer at the same
14:15 time if that's what you're after.
14:19 Alright time to get serious and see what actual lap time the M4 does.
14:23 Now I've gone with M2 everything in sports mode, I didn't go full sports plus in the
14:29 suspension, I've gone sports, I've gone traction control on level 4 and basically we are ready
14:36 to race.
14:37 This feels like a race car, I'm worried for the C63, this thing feels quick, feels sharp.
14:43 Alright let's start the lap.
14:45 [Music]
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15:44 [Music]
15:47 So there you go guys, I expected the M4 to win, especially with the tyres but not by
15:58 that much, that was impressive, 55.55 seconds, that puts it third on the leaderboard just
16:04 behind the GT3 RS and GT2 RS, that's crazy.
16:08 The C63 actually wasn't that bad but the M4 was just crazy fast out there, so precise,
16:14 so connected.
16:15 Steering feeling, I actually preferred the C63 but that's about it, everything else went
16:20 to the M4, it was so impressive on the track but it is very track orientated where the
16:25 C63 you can probably live with every day a little bit better.
16:28 I feel like they're almost completely separate cars in terms of the demographic, you've got
16:32 a car that's a cruiser, sounds amazing and the other car's a knife edge race car, so
16:38 as much as they're similar there's so many differences in terms of what you're after
16:41 in a car.
16:42 For me personally, the M4 is the car for me, it was amazing on the track, I really enjoyed
16:47 it, was mightily impressed but you wouldn't be upset with the C63 either.
16:51 Thanks again for watching guys, hope you enjoyed the video, lots more content to come, don't
16:55 forget to like it if you enjoyed the video and subscribe to the channel, let us know
16:59 what else you'd like to see on the track and we'll catch you guys again soon.
17:01 Thanks again.
17:02 [Music]
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