Looks like in 2008, High Performance 4 door sport sedans will be the c63, IS-f and possibly m3 sedan ( rumored in 2009 )

C63 Amg
Look and feel:
I checked out the 2008 C class and the interior is not to my expectations. The dash material looks like rubber and not that pleasing IMHO and the seats are harder than the previous C class
C63 AMG may look much nicer especially with the Amg seats, seats controls on the door and soft nappa leather and nicer steering wheel and materials. I hope so since the E63 AMG materials are awesome

Transmission:
The only negative from early reviews seems to be the upshift speeds in that there is a delay . The slk 55 amg suffers from the same problem and when u downshift say from 5 to 3 it is not a direct shift but in 2 steps , the shift happens from 5 to 4 and then from 4 to 3 , but C63 may have different programming due to the throttle blip feature, let's hope so.
Price:
65-70K
Power
Appx 450 horse/450 torque is awesome

Is-f
Look and feel:
I first saw a red Is-f at U.S Open ( lexus was the sponsor) and it looks much better in person than the pics. The Is-f seats were very very comfy/supportive and materials top notch. The steering wheel is thicker than regular IS cars with smooth leather but still not thick enough .The 19" BBS wheels look nice and the side skirts give it an agressive look. The rear leg room is smaller than 08 c class
Transmission: Donno what lexus means by a direct shift 8 speed gearbox that shifts in 0.1 second with rev matching on downshifts. I dont think it is similar to DSG . I would say from test drives that DSG is the best automatic that can come close to a manual in feel and control and can outperform a manual in shift speeds and smoothness. I guess we have to wait and see
power
Appx. 425 horses/360 torque is very very good
Price
55k-60K


Bmw m3
Have yet to see the car in person and only comes in 6 speed and as a coupe in the first year
Power:
420 HP/ 295 Torque is very good
55k-60K

So i guess till real road tests are done and C63 amg seen in person it is tough to figure out how good it drives and how good it looks in person

 

My next car is going to be one of these. I am loooking at the IS-F becuase it is a lil cheaper and fits my price range. I will be looking to pick one up with 10-15k on it. The only drawback of the C63 is the interior. I have not seen it in person yet but hopefully AMG steps up the interior. One other car i am looking at is a used E63. I konw by the time i pick it up the new bodystyle will be out but the E63 is a perfect car both inside and out. I wish the C's interiro could be a lil more like the E's.

 

Add in the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V. It's gonna be crazy with the 600hp option!!! The new 2008 CTS drives great. I can imagine it with double the hp!!!

 

Never gonna happen.

Additionally, people shouldn't forget the RS4 so quickly.

 

Well the RS4 is being discontinued after this model year, so it can't really be in the discussion anymore. The RS6 Avant will be available afterwards, but only in Europe .

The RS5 (I don't even know if it truly exists), which is rumored to be released next year to compete with the M3 and C63, looks like a beast of a vehicle. That's only a coupe though.

 

You make good points. Juts a bit of additional information for anyone interested.

RS5, if released, will likely use the high revving FSI V8. The 09 RS6 has a TT V10 putting out 580ps (572bhp). The Europe-only RS6 wagon does indeed arrive in Europe next spring but the sedan version will reach these shores, albeit 6 months later. I know, as I have a deposit down on one.

 

I really hate that Audi only builds one RS model at a time (although if this RS5 is real, they will finally break that tradition). That would make things so much more interesting when having to chose between the RS 4-5-6 (imagine what an RS8 could do, if they ever built one), M3 or M5, and the numerous AMG models.

Just some food for thought, if the RS5 is in production, it is rumored to have a 4.2L V8 (same as the RS4) but with 2 highly responsive turbochargers. Word is 450HP and 500lb-ft of torque.

 

Reason for one at a time is because they are on their own production line at the Quattro GmBH factory. I agree it would be nice but if they could build more but remember the higher the output the more a brand is diluted.

My information is that the RS5, if it's coming, will use anything other than the sublime 414bhp NA V8 from the RS4. My reasoning is that Audi have already TT'd that engine from its 340bhp form in the previous generation RS6 where it gave 444bhp and 473bhp in the Plus version.

With the 414bhp RS4, Audi showed they can build world class NA engines and don't *need* turbos. However, they have shown with the RS6 that mnay still *want* the low down power and tuneability of TT units with the new RS6, especially on the larger models.

 

really, didn't know that, but out of those 4, RS4 might be my last choice

 

Audi's RS models usually only have 2 year runs anyway. I don't know if that will change soon or not (especially if they're breaking their "one RS model at a time" tradition), but I would like to see them in longer runs.

Personally, I'd take the RS4 over the IS-F and M3, but probably not the C63.

If the RS5 is real though, I would take that over all...

 

I drove the RS4 recently and it was very under-whelming. The suspension felt nice and of course using a stick is great, but I didn't really feel like there was all that much get up and go (for all of it's 420 HP, it has less torque than our lowly Cs). It's a highway hauler but I wasn't like 'wow'. I'm sure the AWD is nice, but it feels like the pig it is. Nice seats, but otherwise the interior was kind of Fisher-Price. Point being; I can see why it's compared to our C32/C55 but I don't think it can be in the same catagory as the C63.

That's just my opinion - I'm not an Audi haytah or anything, I have a B5 S4 that I'm Stage 3ing right now so I love the cars/history/legacy but the RS4 just didn't do it for me. Sounds amazing of course

 

I've been looking into it recently...supercharged Corvette V8 engine, 3600lbs...its gonna be a monster.