[aussiem3]

" ... It gets worse for Bee Em's tangerine dream machine, because the rear spoiler, the carbon roof and those silly seatbelts give other road users the impression that, for you, driving is a hobby. And people with hobbies, as we know are deeply suspect. Many are murderers.

The Mercedes with its flared wheel arches looks silly and flamboyant. It's a comedy car, a machine conceived, designed and built just to make you smile.

Like I said at the start of this piece, then, these cars are very different. The BMW is a bit like the McLaren MP4-12C. It's fantastically capable, but a bit clinical. It's pure engineering from a company that understands the need for balance. It even has a clutch of horsepower that can be used. Rather than an extra hundred or so which cannot. It is brilliant.

There's another reason, too. The standard BMW M3 is already so brilliant, it seems a bit silly to spend twice as much on a car that is not, by any stretch of the imagination, twice as good.

With Mercedes, things are different. The standard C63 is not especially noteworthy, which means it is worth paying extra for the Black. Which is."

Above are Jeremy Clarkson's words on Top Gear's head to head in the C63 AMG Black and M3 GTS. I think the standard ///3 in whatever shape or form has every single ///3 DNA and a very successful road and track care recipe. Is there room for improvement ... may be. Are these improvements useable on a daily basis ... it's subjective.

People with deep pockets and collectors will buy one ... because they must have one.

I don't think there would be a real business case for the black series competitor. The only business case I can think of is, BMW wants to bump the numbers up as the E9x series comes to a hallow end of a very successful run. The E9x ///3 has been the most successful in terms of sales in the history of /// given the series V8 engine. We might not see a NA engine from BMW may be at least for a decade an a half as BMW may look to recover R&D cost through the installation on various upcoming /// series.

I am better off with money in my pocket than in the BMW Bank. I think BMW will really struggle to get the proposed car out of the showroom doors unless it can produce a really unique and standout car over the standard one at a very competitive price.

I think my money is on a standard ///3 with all the creature comfort but with uprated engine from GTS/CRT from Europe. This will be the so called "special edition". I don't think BMW will waste time and money on getting compliance in the US with a stripped down version. That will make the car more expensive.

BMW will test the market with the E9x /// before considering a similar line up with ///5 and ///6.