MERCEDES-AMG GT S Price 0-62mph Top speed Kerb weight Engine Power Torque Gearbox
£110,500 3.8sec 193mph 1645kg V8, 3982cc, twin-turbo, petrol 503bhp at 6000-6500rpm 479lb ft at 1750-5000rpm 7-spd dual-clutch auto
BRINGINGUPTHERE Audi RS3 vs Mercedes-AMG GT S
A
damp circuit would have been exactly what Audi might have ordered for the start of our track judging process at Snetterton. Intermittent rain kept the surface from drying out for much of the morning, making grip levels inconsistent and confidence at the wheel hard to come by. Predictable four-wheel-drivers like the Audi RS3 should have been at a natural advantage, while life was made more difficult for highly strung, rearwheel-drive super-coupés such as the Mercedes-AMG GT S. That both cars tied for last place may be harder on the Audi than the Mercedes, therefore. Ultimately, neither car impressed the judges much. In previous years, we’ve seen cars end up at the tail end of the rankings, narrowly shaded by a field of superb driver’s cars and highly undeserving of the ignominy that, no matter how we try to wrap it, is
38 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 11 NOVEMBER 2015
inevitably associated. Not this year, though, when the gulf between the bottom two cars and any of their superiors was plain. In the case of the RS3, it was plainer on the track than on the tight, punishing B-roads of rural Norfolk. The Audi’s surefootedness won it some praise on the road. Almost idiotproof point-and-shoot handling may limit the amount of fun you can have in less restrictive circumstances, but it’s less of an imposition when you’re skirting around hedges, dodging potholes and sizing up the awkwardlooking cambers of a shaded country lane, generally at a good arm’s length from the limit of grip. Here, the allenveloping composure and stability of the RS3’s four-wheel drive chassis don’t seem so misplaced, particularly when they make it easier to enjoy a wonderful five-cylinder engine. If powertrains could win prizes here, the RS3’s might have. It sounds rich and characterful, hits hard, spins
RS3 was surefooted but short on control; GT S felt hyperactive
