A war of horsepower is raging and Mercedes-AMG has just grabbed the atomic button and delivered an all-new 2024 C63 S with so much muscle that its BMW M3 rival looks like it’s competing in an entirely different market.
With the help of hybrid support, the latest C63 S delivers 671 hp (680 hp), which is a whopping 167 hp (170 hp) more than the M3 Competition. It’s the same story with torque: 752 lb-ft (1,020 Nm) plays 479 lb-ft (650 Nm). It’s hard to see how the M3 has any hope of catching up until BMW launches an all-new car in a few years.
But is it necessary to catch up? There are a few other numbers that stand out on the C63’s spec sheet besides power. One is the number of driven wheels, which is now four for the first time; another is the hulking curb weight of 4,489 lbs (2,036 kg). And another one is the number of cylinders: four. The old C63 S could rule the M3 by reminding us, even though they had the same power, the AMG had a 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 and the BMW only had a 3.0-litre six turbo. But now the C63 S has been downgraded to a 2.0-litre turbo four.
Obviously we’re not in a position to rely on the success of that move until we’ve driven one (and seen how many Merc sells), but we’re lying if we take the idea of a super sedan from $100k with an inline four makes us as excited as the thought of one with a six or V8, no matter how much more power it makes or how easier it is to live with.
There’s just something wonderfully naughty about starting an engine that’s much bigger than it should be, hearing how it sounds at startup, idling and under load, and how that noise changes the more you ask for it. Cars with big ICE engines have a swagger that small ones don’t, and while we’ve driven enough hot hatches to know you can make a lot of noise and power with a four-cylinder engine, they’re rarely as interesting to listen to or as characterful as an engine with more pistons.
But on the other hand, it will be hard to say no to 168 more ponies, and although there is only 0.1 second between the C63 S published time of 3.4 seconds from zero to 100 km/h and the 3 .5 seconds BMW claims for the M3 Competition xDrive, and the C63 weighs a lot more, we suspect the Benz will romp next spring in the many YouTube drag race videos heading our way.
But we want to know if that matters to you. Are absolute power and performance the most important consideration when choosing a car like an AMG C63 S? Or would you rather take a horsepower hit and have the M3’s extra cylinders, just as Lamborghini buyers like to prefer the Huracan and its naturally aspirated V10 over Ferrari and McLaren turbo rivals that make it look puny? Leave a comment and let us know if you care that the AMG has ‘only’ a four-cylinder ICE engine.