BMW M3 coupe vs Audi RS4 cabrio CAR review

M3 meets its nemesis

So you’ve already devoured CAR’s first drive verdict on the new BMW M3 and its V8 engine and watched the video of us punishing it at the Ascari race resort, but how does it stack up against its key rival? That’s the RS4 in case you were wondering, the 414bhp V8-powered A4 from Audi's tuning arm, Quattro GmbH. There’s no two-door coupe version of the Audi to directly rival the Coupé-shelled M3 – that role will be filled by the RS5 next year – but the range is more complete otherwise, stretching from four-door saloon to five door Avant and two-door Cabriolet, pictured here.

The hardware:

First the similarities: they’ve both got 414bhp V8s capable of revving past 8000rpm but the BMW’s 3999cc unit gives away 22lb ft to the 4163cc Audi eight which manages to serve up 317lb ft of tyre-tearing twist. And there’s not much in it to look at the bald figures, both scooting to 62mph in just under 5secs, the BMW’s 4.8sec effort besting the Audi’s by a mere tenth and both being pegged to 155mph by electronic limiters. And that’s despite the four-wheel drive Audi’s better traction. Because while the M3 sticks resolutely to two-wheel drive, channelling its grunt to the rear wheels and relying on the clever M differential to keep things neat (or not, depending on the driver’s wish), the RS4 employs Audi’s Torsen four-wheel drive system, in this case with a slight rear bias. What does prevent the RS4 posting some even hotter times is its kerb weight: a portly 1845kg, compared to 1650kg for the saloon version. The M3 tips the scales at 1655kg but that’s nothing to be proud of when the old car weighed nearly 100kg less.