2012 Mercedes Benz Coupe

Remember when that pasty software engineer from Utah kept winning on Jeopardy!? His name is Ken Jennings, and he won 74 times in a row before ignominiously losing to a real-estate agent from Ventura, California. Jennings was smug and a bit annoying. But love him or hate him, he was shockingly good and seemingly genetically engineered to answer in question form.

With its five-comparison-test winning streak, the current BMW M3 is our very own Ken Jennings, engineered to dominate our comparos. And, like Jennings, its success annoys some people.  Administering beat-downs on some of the world’s best cars will do that. Up against the M3 this time is the 6.2-liter V-8–equipped Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG coupe. Based on the AMG-ified C-class sedan that the M3 previously defeated, this C63 now sports two doors, a vastly improved interior, and a seven-speed automatic with a wet starting clutch instead of a torque converter. Engine power is slightly higher than that vanquished C63’s, thanks to the $6050 AMG Development package that takes horsepower up 30 to 481, or 67 more ponies than in the M3.