We all know that supercars are not very suitable for the Indian roads. In fact not just Indian roads, they are not very well suited for India. For example, you can’t just park you Lamborghini on the Indian streets without thinking of somebody scratching it or without the paparazzi clicking pictures of it. But what if you want a really fast car that doesn’t look really fast. That’s when you decide to buy a car with a performance badge.
So, what comes to your mind when you see a Mercedes E class? or BMW 5 series? or an Audi A6? probably nothing more than they are some beautiful, comfortable cars. But what if you want the same cars but with the performance figures of a supercar while retaining the same luxury, looks(mostly), practicality and features? You buy their performance version. To make it more simple, if a normal car is a cat, its performance version is a tiger. Not all performance badges are as crazy as the ones we are going to talk about . In this blog we will talk about some renowned performance badges.
You must be imagining what difference would a performance badge make to a car, what if I tell you that if a standard Mercedes E class 200 CGI does 0-100 km/h in 7.9 seconds, it’s performance version i.e the Mercedes E class AMG E63 S does the same in just 3.4 seconds. They only look same from the outside but under the hood, they are completely different cars. The performance versions come with different engines, suspensions and much more track focused bodies. Undoubtedly, these advancements come at a hefty price. You might have to shed more than a crore for some models. Where a normal BMW 5 series would cost somewhere around 50-55 lakhs, the BMW M5 would cost you around 1.55 crores. But the price is justified looking at what you get for the extra bucks. Today, almost all the companies have their performance version line up. Let’s see some of the famous performance versions which are on sale in India.
- AUDI RS7
This is undeniably one of the best looking performance car out there (call me a fanboy, I don’t mind). It doesn’t only look sporty, it packs some crazy performance figures under its hood. It houses a 4.0-liter TFSI®twin-turbocharged V8 engine that produces 591 horses and an impressive 799.9 Nm of torque. It comes with quattro all-wheel drive and quattro sport rear differential. It does 0-100 km/h in just 3.5 seconds. It will be launched in India somewhere in the end of 2020 at an expected price of 1.5 crores.
2. The BMW M5 competition
This is one of the most track focused performance car. This car has a fan following of its own. It comes with a powerful M TwinPower Turbo 4.4-litre V8 engine which produces 625 horses and 750 Nm of torque. It’s not just fast on a track but also in a straight line as it does 0-100 km/h in just 3.3 seconds. The BMW M5 competition comes at around 1.6 crores in India.
3. Mercedes AMG E63 S
The AMG badge takes the India’s favourite luxury saloon, the E class to a whole new level. It packs the lush interiors of an E class with the behemoth engine, which is a 603-hp twin-turbo V-8 and produces 850Nm of torque. It goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds. It is priced at Rs. 1.53 crore.
4. Mercedes AMG G63
Famously called the G wagon, this vehicle is a crush of many. The G class is a superb all rounder in itself and the AMG badge just makes it even more better. This go anywhere vehicle isn’t only rugged, but its also one of the fastest SUVs out in the market if not the fastest. It packs an AMG 4.0-litre V8 biturbo engine which produces 572 hp and 850 Nm of torque. It does 0-100 in an acclaimed 4.4 seconds. The AMG G63 has sticker price of Rs 2.19 crores.
MY VERDICT
Performance cars are simply great. They offer you all the amenities while providing you the fun of a sports car. You can drop your kids to school and go for a race in the same car. In fact, they are even better than sports cars in many aspects. They are perfect all rounders. For India, these performance cars are really suitable. The taxes makes these cars really expensive but that doesn’t stop Indians from buying them. It would be lovely to see performance versions of the affordable cars in the Indian market.
Here are some performance version of different car companies
| Company | version |
| Ford | Team RS |
| Mercedes | AMG |
| Nissan | Nismo |
| Hyundai | N |
| BMW | M Sport |
| Audi | RS |
| Hyundai | N |
| Fiat | Abarth |
| Toyota | TRD |
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