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We head out of the office and, after giving the cars a quick clean for the cameras, head out of town. I get my first, brief taste of AMG power when we head onto the motorway. With the car’s settings dial still set to C for comfort, I push the throttle into the carpet and hurtle forward on a tidal wave of power and torque. There’s a huge amount of grunt from the big V8, with massive amounts of low down twist and phenomenal mid-range pull. I’m up to the speed limit in barely five seconds, the power plant not even pausing for breath. The official 0-100kph time with the AMG Performance Pack installed is 4.3 seconds, but it feels even quicker than that.
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We have an hour of motorway ahead of us before we hit anything interesting, and I reckon I’m in the right car for the cruise, despite a fairly stiff chassis keeping me informed of any road repairs that might be required. There’s an iPod connector under the armrest and a pretty decent sound system. A flick of the thin upper left hand stalk enables the Distronic system (or adaptive cruise control to you and me), which keeps me a constant distance behind the BMW. Which still looks pretty badass, its wide rear track and the red of the M badge showing anyone interested that it has the power to impress.
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As the traffic thins and the speed cameras disappear, an impromptu drag race takes place. Over three rounds, I am champion in the AMG, the extra horsepower of the Mercedes proving triumphant despite the extra 53kg that it carries as standard. Besides, the M3 has both Phil and James in it. But it’s close. The torque from the big naturally aspirated V8 gives me and the C63 the head start, and from there we slowly creep away from the BMW, the engine and exhaust combining to give that distinctive hard-edged AMG sound. It’s glorious. The M3 doesn’t sound at all bad thanks to the Akrapovic system fitted to it, with some lovely crackles on the overrun, but it’s not as full-bodied as the AMG.
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Across the Arabian peninsula the swirling sand gives way to rocky mountains and the motorway becomes a wide, sweeping highway climbing up. Both cars are lunatic fast through here, but I get the feeling that James and the M3 are more confident when pushing through the bends. The C63 has very light steering through here, almost completely devoid of the heft I expected and would like. The response of the car remains good, the front end turning in nicely, but the lack of feel is disconcerting.
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We turn off the highway, swap cars and head towards some narrower, twistier roads. The M3 feels less special inside, largely due to its age, but there are still tell-tale signs of its intent. The programmable M button on the steering wheel that unleashes all the power. The buttons to my right that fiddle the electronics. I put everything to max, but stop short of turning the stability control off entirely. Just in case.
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The difference as we set off towards the fun stuff is striking. The pull from the engine isn’t as dramatic as the AMG, but it’s beautifully smooth and lump-free. The dual clutch gearbox, which I’m shifting manually and have set to its fastest mode using a button in front of the transmission, is superbly quick and bordering on the violent when I tug the right-hand paddle. There’s a definite head jerk on each upchange which adds drama to the occasion. It’s much more exhilarating to use than the slightly blunted seven-speed affair in the AMG.
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We reach the twisties and Phil scurries up a mountain with his camera, leaving us to hammer up and down. On these roads, the M3 is a joy. The front end is so responsive, the steering so communicative through the big, chunky wheel, that flicking right and left, left and right leaves me gobsmacked that there’s only a small weight difference between the two cars. Uneducated, I’d have put the M3 at least 100kg lighter, so nimble and stable is it at changing direction. And it’s so balanced too. As the front dives into the corners the back is happy to stay active, but never in an intimidating way. There’s a large window between the point of traction loss and the point of no return, which allows for enthusiastic waggles and indulgent slides as I squeeze the power on coming out of corners, catching the back end easily without my stomach leaping up to my mouth. The amount of grunt for the engine is nigh-on perfect for this car – enough for seriously quick progress, but not enough to overwhelm the car as in the latest M5.
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A return to the AMG is in order, and it’s a very different beast. The lack of accuracy in the steering means I’m less keen to pitch it into a corner, so apex speeds tend to be slower. It’s less keen to let its back end slide than the M3, but that’s not to say that it won’t if asked. While under normal cornering the rear stays relatively planted, a flex of the right ankle will summon all that power and happily start the smoke machine. But it’s nowhere near as amusing as the BMW.
