BLITZKRIEG

You won’t know what hit you after these two are done

- Aditya Upadhyaula

Affalterbach and Munich have been at each other’s throats for as long as anyone can remember and they’ve taken that battle to the global stage. Even here in India, that battle rages on with impunity. For every blow that Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division can throw, BMW’s M has a swift, metered response. For every advancement in chassis technology that the AMG C-Class gets, BMW has a corresponding improvement in suspension tuning or engine of the M3. After decades of this one-upmanship, the pair of them are more evenly matched now than they ever were. This time, though, there’s a slight twist in the tale. There were supposed to be two sports sedans on the battlefield today, but through some miscommunication, we have a two-door coupé and an SUV, both confused at the sight of their opponent.

Surely, this is an unfair battle and we have to call it off, right? Well, no. The bets have been placed and the rubicon has been crossed, by one of them, at least. There’s no turning back now, these two must go head-to-head and only one of them will emerge on the other side a winner.

On one side we have the Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupé, a murdered-out, menacing-looking miscreant with a 469-bhp V8 heart. Compared to the sedan, it loses two doors and gains racing heritage in the form of back-to-back DTM wins. As a replacement for the sedan, the C63 looks like it has the advantage at this stage. Or does it? On the opposing side is the BMW X3 M, a deceptive SUV with large brakes and even larger wheels. If looks could kill, the C63 Coupé would have been standing proudly over its kill, but looks alone won’t decide this battle. For that, we have to get behind the wheel.