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Say hello to the new Audi RS7 and its arch-rival, the BMW M6 Gran Coupe. Both are powered by
turbocharged V8 engines and have over 500bhp -but do they really justify their nearly £100,000
price tags? Let's find out.
The BMW M6 costs just under £98,000 and features a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 with 552bhp and
680Nm of torque. It'll sprint from 0-60 in just 4.2 seconds before hitting a limited
top speed of 155mph.
The Audi has a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 yet despite being down on capacity compared to
the BMW it produces the same bhp and has even more torque with a huge 700Nm. Once again
top speed is limited to 155mph, but it hits 60 in just 3.9 seconds.
Time for a drag race - the Audi's got more torque and it has four-wheel drive: the conditions
are really wet a greasy so it doesn't play to the BMW's advantage. But let's see how
we get on.
The Audi's mighty off the line... already 70mph, 80... it's an easy win over the BMW.
So, the Audi won - but straight line pace is half the story. It's how the cars make
you feel when you drive them that's actually more important.
What's the RS7 like to drive on a back road? Well, the first thing is that it's so hard
to use the performance on the road - it's just warp speed fast so it does feel a little
faster than the M6 but it's so hard to utilise it on the road.
The one thing the Audi does have is obviously with quattro all-wheel drive and that clever
sport differential - it doesn't have any of the traction issues that you get in the M6.
It doesn't work it's stability control as hard. There's lots of grip but the problem
is it's just a bit inert - there's not a lot of feel in the steering, a bit of a disconnect
between the steering and you don't get any sense of the road.
Also, the suspension is a bit odd. The ride isn't great - in fact it's pretty awful - and
all in all it's not a particularly engaging car despite its speed and it's not as comfortable
as the BMW. It's quite hard to love this car despite the fact that the engine is so great.
Overall the Audi, while incredibly capable, left me feeling a little cold. Hopefully the
BMW will be more fun.
Ok, so how does the BMW compare? Well we know it lost in the drag race but in reality that's
because of the wet conditions and the fact it's rear-wheel drive and the Audi got that
4wd traction. In the real world both of these cars feel stupendously quick.
If anything the BMW engine has a little bit more character than the Audi engine and there's
certainly more character to the driving experience. It's not perfect and it troubles the traction
control quite a lot on a wet road and with it off you've got to have some pretty sharp
reactions to catch the slides.
It's just a bit more lively and you can enjoy it more, the steering is better - a bit softer
than the Audi but in the comfort modes it rides better than the Audi too. It's just
a little bit more engaging to drive.
The biggest problem for this car in a way, though isn't the Audi - it's the M6's sister
car, the M5. This car is substantially more expensive than the M5 - about £25,000 more
than an M5 - and it doesn't offer a huge amount more in terms of driving. It's hard to justify
it - but I think it looks great.
So the BMW is the best to drive but it's also the nicest to sit in, with its stylish interior
and sporty wrap-around cockpit. The Audi's still feels posh and is loaded with gadgets
but it lacks the BMW's wow factor. With its hatchback boot the Audi is the more practical
of the pair.
So the Audi is faster and more practical, but the BMW's better to drive and looks more
exclusive - so which one should you choose?
It might cost a lot more money than the BMW M5 but we'd go for the M6 Gran Coupe - it
looks great, sounds fantastic and most importantly it's more fun to drive than the Audi RS7.