On this episode of Head 2 Head
Category
đźš—
MotorTranscript
00:00 Hi there, and welcome to a very powerful,
00:02 yet old school episode of Head to Head.
00:05 Now, I say old school because just like Ford and Chevy
00:09 and Dodge were doing in the 60s and 70s,
00:11 the Germans have been locked in an ever escalating
00:14 horsepower war for more than a decade.
00:17 I also say old school because both of these cars
00:20 feature naturally aspirated V8s.
00:23 If you don't know, sadly, naturally aspirated German V8s
00:27 are going the way of the drum brake, the bias ply tire,
00:30 and the manual transmission.
00:31 They're just not long for this world.
00:34 Thankfully, these two cars exist and they're right here.
00:38 On my left, from the fine folks at Mercedes-Benz
00:41 and the horsepower meisters from AMG,
00:44 we have the C63 507 Coupe.
00:47 And on my right, from Audi and those maniacs
00:50 at Quattro GmbH, the RS5.
00:54 Which one of these two hardcore German coupes is best?
00:59 That's what we're gonna find out.
01:01 (upbeat music)
01:03 (dramatic music)
01:08 (car engine revving)
01:12 Before we get started, I want you to know one thing.
01:17 Both of these cars are quicker in a straight line
01:20 than a Shelby Cobra.
01:21 In fact, both cars are quicker than a Porsche 959.
01:25 Using a combination of a fast shifting
01:29 dual clutch transmission and all wheel drive,
01:33 the Audi RS5 is able to hit 60 miles an hour
01:36 in 3.9 seconds.
01:38 It then beats up the quarter mile in 12.3 seconds
01:41 at 112.2 miles per hour.
01:50 The AMG 507 doesn't have any fancy technology,
01:53 it just has one hell of an engine.
01:55 So it can do 60 miles an hour in 3.8 seconds,
02:00 just clipping the Audi.
02:01 It also just catches the Audi in the quarter mile,
02:04 doing it in 12.2 seconds with a much higher
02:07 traffic speed of 117.4 miles an hour.
02:10 The Mercedes also outbrakes the Audi.
02:18 103 feet from 60 miles an hour.
02:20 It's hard to be good at road holding
02:32 when you're as tail happy as the 507 is.
02:35 And as a result, it pulls .91 G on our skid pad.
02:43 The Audi can nearly pull a G, .99 G's on our skid pad.
02:48 And it simply annihilates the figure eight,
02:51 running around it in 24.6 seconds.
02:54 The 507 can run around the motor trend figure eight
02:56 in 25.2 seconds.
02:59 A very good time, though nowhere near as quick as the Audi.
03:02 So, dynamically, the AMG is faster in a straight line
03:05 and brakes a little bit better.
03:07 However, the RS5 can go around corners better
03:09 and pull more G's with those monster wheels and tires.
03:12 However, which one do you want as your fantasy daily driver?
03:17 Let's go find out.
03:18 Because it is raining, and I'm not in the mood to die today,
03:33 I'm not pushing it quite as hard as I might normally
03:36 in dry conditions.
03:37 And so a lot of the understeer that we always
03:40 notice with Audis is absent.
03:42 Now, of course, we figure eighted it,
03:44 and there is plenty of push.
03:45 But right now, it feels pretty good.
03:47 And I think with both these cars,
03:57 you have to start with the looks,
03:59 because they're both kind of like evil, sinister looking,
04:02 mean coupes.
04:03 But as much as I like the way that 507 looks,
04:06 and I dig that kind of '80s graphic stripe down the side,
04:09 and I like the nostrils and the hood
04:11 straight off the black series, the best looking car here
04:14 is the Audi.
04:15 I mean, this thing just looks awesome.
04:18 It also, I'm very happy to report, drives well.
04:21 You know, it is raining, so you'd
04:34 think this is where the Audi shines.
04:37 And it totally does.
04:38 I mean, the all-wheel drive, the quattro system,
04:41 and these massive 21-inch wheels, so much grip.
04:45 It's not even a problem on this.
04:47 Like, you know, this is the first time it's rained in LA,
04:49 and I don't know how long.
04:50 Oil all over the place, no problem.
04:52 Just stick into the road.
04:53 Carlos Lago had an interesting point.
05:02 He was saying, you know, if you just drove around town,
05:05 if you actually never headed up to somewhere like here,
05:08 up in these crazy canyons above LA,
05:10 you would think the Audi RS5 is the greatest car in the world.
05:14 And he's totally right, because if you stay away
05:17 from the quote, unquote, "limit,"
05:18 if you stay away from where this car will go into terminal
05:21 understeer, it's absolutely brilliant.
05:23 What makes this an RS5, we've got those crazy wave pattern
05:27 brakes, which are right off of a MotoGP bike.
05:30 As we saw when we had the RS7 on the track,
05:33 they don't really work as well as advertised.
05:36 Some people think they look cool.
05:37 I think they look like flowers.
05:39 Then you've got the old, venerable German Iron Duke,
05:43 the 4.2 liter V8 lump of an engine,
05:46 which I've been in love with since I first drove it in the RS4.
05:49 Now it's pumping out 450 horsepower.
05:52 Pretty stout.
05:53 Huge red line, like 82.50 is the red line.
05:56 It just loves to scream.
06:01 The final piece of the RS5 puzzle
06:03 is, of course, the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission
06:06 that Audi calls their DSG.
06:09 It is so good.
06:10 As far as street cars go, pure street machines,
06:13 this is about as good as the transmission gets.
06:15 The shifts are instant.
06:17 The programming is totally intuitive.
06:19 Around town, it's an automatic.
06:20 And up here, if I start pulling the paddles,
06:24 it's just-- you have full control.
06:26 And man, I'm telling you, right now, in these conditions,
06:29 wet, rainy, and oily in this car,
06:33 that 507 has its hands full trying to beat it.
06:36 Let's talk about the 6.2 liter V8 under this hood.
06:52 I've dated women that have given me less satisfaction
06:54 than this engine has.
06:59 It is a work of art, a masterpiece.
07:02 I can't believe it's going out of production.
07:04 Sadly, it is.
07:07 Despite the 6.3 badges, this is a 6.2 liter naturally
07:11 aspirated V8, which makes 507 horsepower.
07:15 I mean, love this motor.
07:20 Cannot say enough good things about it.
07:22 Just so quick, so responsive.
07:24 Get on the gas, instant power, so much of it, so much torque.
07:28 Sounds so good.
07:30 I love this motor.
07:32 We should talk about the chassis a little bit.
07:34 I mean, it's so balanced.
07:35 It's so neutral.
07:36 It's pretty stiff.
07:37 It loves to rotate.
07:38 It just loves to dance down the road.
07:40 Oh, the brakes.
07:44 They're actually the exact same brakes off the Black Series,
07:48 the C63 Black, which, a couple of years ago,
07:51 best driver's car.
07:53 We all thought it had the best brakes of any car there.
07:55 And there's that old expression, a car
07:57 is only as good as its brakes.
07:59 Well, this car's really effing good, if that's the case.
08:02 This steering is so much better than the Audi's.
08:08 Audi's totally gets you around corners, not a problem.
08:11 But this car, the steering actually feels good.
08:15 And when you are going to spend close to $100,000
08:19 on a little two-door, you really want steering
08:22 that's going to feel good.
08:23 [ENGINE REVVING]
08:26 The 507 is one hell of a car.
08:32 What I don't love is the transmission.
08:35 [ENGINE REVVING]
08:38 It's kind of the same old AMG story,
08:40 but it's the seven-speed automatic, their MCT,
08:43 their wet clutch.
08:44 They need to replace that.
08:45 And I'm pretty sure they are with the next generation cars.
08:48 But for right now, that's kind of a missing link.
08:51 It's kind of the weak spots.
08:52 It's what's preventing this car from being a real classic.
08:56 Because the 507 is going to go down in history
08:58 as a very special AMG product, except for the transmission.
09:05 Well, friends, I have driven both cars.
09:08 And they're both just--
09:10 wow, I would love to have either one.
09:13 Adding it all up, OK, let's see.
09:15 We got the 507.
09:17 I like the engine a lot better.
09:18 I like the steering wheel a lot better and the steering itself.
09:21 I don't like the transmission as much.
09:24 The Audi has more grip because it's got bigger wheels,
09:26 so it doesn't necessarily ride as well.
09:28 This one drives better, but the Audi has all-wheel drive,
09:31 and I can push it harder in the rain.
09:33 The Audi looks better.
09:35 OK, you add all that up, and the winner of this head-to-head
09:38 is--
09:38 [ENGINE REVVING]
09:42 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:45 The C63 AMG 507.
09:56 I'm sorry.
09:57 If you can find a better coupe, buy it,
10:00 as Lee Iacocca might have said.
10:02 This thing is just awesome, awesome, awesome.
10:06 And the Audi is only awesome, awesome.
10:08 So this car's definitely the winner.
10:10 [ENGINE REVVING]
10:13 Driven both cars.
10:19 Driven both cars.
10:20 Driven both--
10:21 Driven both--
10:21 Driven both cars.
10:23 Well, friends.
10:26 This one just feels so sexy.
10:28 You know what I mean?
10:29 Snakes down the road, and the Audi's sort of like--
10:32 [GRUNTING]
10:33 --like beats up the road.
10:36 I love this motor.
10:37 Love this motor.
10:38 I love this engine.
10:39 I love this engine.
10:42 I just love this engine.
10:44 [HUMMING]
10:46 So much torque, so much power.
10:49 I just love this engine.
10:51 And the steering wheel feels so good.
10:55 The final piece of the RS5 puddle.