Why Germany is in a Super-Saloon Civil War at the NY Auto Show
The Audi RS5 Sportback and the facelifted Mercedes-AMG C63 are both revealed at the New York Auto Show. Jaguar unveils the F-Pace SVR.
The Audi RS5 Coupé hasn't been given a lot of love by journalists, and has been criticised far and wide for being dull and aloof. Audi's answer to this is the new Sportback version, with four doors, a first for the RS5 (although a regular S5 bodystyle) and normal RS innards.
That means a 2.9l biturbo V6, also found in some Porsche models, producing 444bhp and 443lb ft of torque, and rocketing the 1840kg (slightly more than usual) RS5 Sportback to 62mph in just 3.9s, which is two tenths tardier than the Coupé (although TopGear has timed that car at a ludicrous 3.2s), and on to an electronically capped top speed of 155mph, or if you tick certain boxes, 174mph. Pricing starts at around 63 grand. We've got high hopes for this one if they can sort the chassis.
Naturally, however, in the German holy trinity of £60k super-saloons, it isn't alone. Mercedes-AMG's offering at NY this year is the facelifted C63S.
Taking the GT range's prison-bar Panamericana grille (even the name is wide) and Affalterbach's new nine-speed auto gearbox, the new C63S is mainly just an improvement on the last one, with no more power than before out of the 4.0l biturbo 8-banger (503bhp for the C63S, 469 for the cooking '63). Remember, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. We already love the V8 soundtrack and the hooligan chassis, and AMG has only really added a limited-slip diff (for the S only) to break that formula. It hasn't borrowed the 4WD gubbins from the E63S, either. It sounds like a good formula to me.
It isn't just Germany that is taking the wraps off new performance cars, because Britain is joining in too. Jaaaaaaag (sorry, just had to) has shoehorned its excellent 5.0l supercharged V8 into yet another unsuspecting bodystyle. This time, it's the F-Pace SUV that gets the SVR treatment, and the engine is bringing 542bhp with it, 44% more than the 375bhp V6 S model, the current apex predator of the range.
The dash to 62mph takes just 4.3s, on the way to a 176mph juicy end. It's got an 8-speed automatic, 4WD like the F-Type SVR and some awesome aero contraptions. For example, vents aft of the front and rear vents help reduce air pressure that would build up in the arches and lift up the car. Bonnet and front bumper vents supply a hefty supply of cooling to the enormous engine, and quad-pipes deliver a hefty supply of ear-splitting noise. The pricing will start at about £74,000.
Throughout the week, we ourselves will be delivering news from the NYAS, so stay tuned, and as usual you can leave a comment to share your thoughts or if you think I missed something.
The Audi RS5 Coupé hasn't been given a lot of love by journalists, and has been criticised far and wide for being dull and aloof. Audi's answer to this is the new Sportback version, with four doors, a first for the RS5 (although a regular S5 bodystyle) and normal RS innards.
That means a 2.9l biturbo V6, also found in some Porsche models, producing 444bhp and 443lb ft of torque, and rocketing the 1840kg (slightly more than usual) RS5 Sportback to 62mph in just 3.9s, which is two tenths tardier than the Coupé (although TopGear has timed that car at a ludicrous 3.2s), and on to an electronically capped top speed of 155mph, or if you tick certain boxes, 174mph. Pricing starts at around 63 grand. We've got high hopes for this one if they can sort the chassis.
Naturally, however, in the German holy trinity of £60k super-saloons, it isn't alone. Mercedes-AMG's offering at NY this year is the facelifted C63S.
Taking the GT range's prison-bar Panamericana grille (even the name is wide) and Affalterbach's new nine-speed auto gearbox, the new C63S is mainly just an improvement on the last one, with no more power than before out of the 4.0l biturbo 8-banger (503bhp for the C63S, 469 for the cooking '63). Remember, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. We already love the V8 soundtrack and the hooligan chassis, and AMG has only really added a limited-slip diff (for the S only) to break that formula. It hasn't borrowed the 4WD gubbins from the E63S, either. It sounds like a good formula to me.
It isn't just Germany that is taking the wraps off new performance cars, because Britain is joining in too. Jaaaaaaag (sorry, just had to) has shoehorned its excellent 5.0l supercharged V8 into yet another unsuspecting bodystyle. This time, it's the F-Pace SUV that gets the SVR treatment, and the engine is bringing 542bhp with it, 44% more than the 375bhp V6 S model, the current apex predator of the range. 
The dash to 62mph takes just 4.3s, on the way to a 176mph juicy end. It's got an 8-speed automatic, 4WD like the F-Type SVR and some awesome aero contraptions. For example, vents aft of the front and rear vents help reduce air pressure that would build up in the arches and lift up the car. Bonnet and front bumper vents supply a hefty supply of cooling to the enormous engine, and quad-pipes deliver a hefty supply of ear-splitting noise. The pricing will start at about £74,000.
Throughout the week, we ourselves will be delivering news from the NYAS, so stay tuned, and as usual you can leave a comment to share your thoughts or if you think I missed something.
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