BMW is swinging hits left and right. After BMW Australia’s claim that Audi is not a rival comes the recently issued brochure for the 2008 M3. A page of the brochure, shown above, takes direct stabs at the four cars BMW believes to be the M3’s direct rivals: the Porsche 911 Carrera, the Audi RS4 and the Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG. While listing the beneficial qualities of each of the competitors (the 911’s iconic status, the Audi’s emotional appeal and the Mercedes’ brute power), BMW then takes the three cars and strips them down, declaring how they just simply pale in comparison to their wonderful new M3.
Some of the colorful insults they shoot off are as follows:
The boys from Bavaria consider the yellow Stuttgart speeder to be saddled up with “optional packages to do all … the BMW M3 can do as standard.” Furthermore, BMW declares the rear seats of the 911 as “tiny seats in the rear … not really suitable for adults” and goes on to point out the lack of “utility” (their word, not mine) in the fact that the Porsche has 30 percent the luggage space as the M3. Because we’re all going to use our 911’s to bring grandma and grandpa to the airport.
At it again with Audi, BMW just scoffs at the RS4, saying that “it is becoming clear that Audi RS is following the pattern set by BMW M.” They dismiss the usage as turbo charging to create a high-revving engine as a copy of BMW, and the Quattro system a necessity for safely putting the power to the ground, but at the same time, a system that bogs the RS4 down with too much weight. If you ask the tipsters over at German Car Blog and VW Vortex, the RS4 Beats out the new M3, porky awd or not. Check that out here.
We come to the Mercedes CLK63 AMG, and the first half a sentence is nothing but praise. “On paper, the CLK63 AMG may be the most powerful competitor here with its 354 kW/481 hp, but it is not really a thoroughbred sports car like the BMW M3.” BMW sites the Merc as too cushy and comfortable to be a real sports car. Another complaint of BMW’s (that I, and many car-nuts share) is the availability of only an automatic on the AMG models. They go on to call Mercedes another copier of using a high-revving engine, but really hit it home when they say the CLK63 “does not have the genes of a thoroughbred sports car.”
Way to hit below the belt BMW. I can’t wait to see if there’s any kind of retaliation.
The link to the full M3 brochure is here, via Carscoop.