The Man In The White Suit Gives Us Some Perspective On The RS4 Vs. M3 Vs. C63 AMG

As we gear up to see Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi go at it once again with the new C63 AMG Coupe, M3 and RS5, it's nice to take a look back in history. That's because if you don't learn from it you're bound to repeat it, so they say.

Taking that ancient lesson into consideration, we ran across this thread on M3post that takes a look at Ben Collins' account of the day Top Gear UK was shooting the three German vehicles during a showdown. It's a great read simply because not only do you learn a lot about the three vehicles in question but you also get a better look at Top Gear behind the scenes.

With that said, we've taken a snippet from the thread, which features an except from Ben Collins' book "The Man In The White Suit."

Yes, a snippet within a snippet.

Who do you think learned the most from previous showdowns and will put that information to good use? Audi? BMW? Mercedes-Benz?


**To see the full account, make sure to click "Read Article"


We flew to Malaga in Spain and stayed at the opulent Ascari Resort. The circuit nestled inside a range of rugged mountains dotted with sparse Andalusian foliage. It was designed by the owner and my former team boss, Klaas Zwart, and replicated twenty-six of the most challenging corners from Grand Prix venues like Spa and Zandvoort. With sun all year round, it was the perfect setting to assess the true performance of three of the latest road cars: a BMW M3, an Audi RS4 and a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG.

As I walked down the pit lane I passed a familiar shape peering from underneath the metal shutters to one of the garages. I stared longingly at the aggressive dive planes covering the wheel arches of Ascari’s Le Mans racing prototype. It sent me back to the time I drove it around Le Mans. The desire to race stung like a wasp, and it was all I could do to drag my focus back to the day’s objectives.

Clarkson was hunched over his laptop, sucking on a Marlboro as he rocked back in deep contemplation of the script he’d been working on with TG’s other wordsmith, Richard Porter. Jeremy was the architectural powerhouse behind all his work, so I left him to it. I needed to make a decision that would affect the rest of my day: Cappuccino or Americano...