TOP GEAR BATTLE OF THE SALOONS: BMW M3, MERCEDES C63, AUDI RS4, LEXUS IS-F
aston_martin submitted on 4/20/2008 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 1:31:03 AM
75 user comments | Category: Reviews | Source: | SOURCE: www.topgear.com
It is with that in mind that you realise none of these cars looks particularly Rampton day-release, even though each one is fast enough to make your ears clap around the back of your head.
So we get subtle(ish) bonnet bulges, wheel arch flares, larger diameter wheels, bigger exhausts and deeper scoops, but no massive spoilers or visually lurid splitters to give the game away. All have put on lean muscle without falling into the caricature styling trap and ending up with a bodybuilder's waddle.
Out of all four, the Lexus with its black wheels, big arches, engine-bay cooling front wheel arch vents and quad-piggyback exhaust tips is the most aggressive.
The C63 is a good thing, a recognisable thing, but not a neon advert. Those half-submerged torpedo-shaped bulges in the bonnet mark the C-Class's potential, but really there's very little anger in it, even though the four exhausts are a little more explicit.
The BMW is similarly restrained, and even though we have the coupe version here, there's something über-normal about it that means while it's easy to overlook, if you linger, there's a wealth of gorgeous performance detail to absorb.
As always, the RS4 tucks away in the background, confident, subtle and muscular, wheel arch flares and distinctive wheels complementing the twin-oval exhausts that state the nature of the V8's business. There isn't much visual pork on any of the cars, and every single one looks the better for it - Bruce Lee rather than Incredible Hulk...........
Read Article