BMW M6 Gran Coupe vs Audi RS7 video

This is the new Audi RS7 and its arch-rival, the BMW M6 Gran Coupe. Both are powered by turbocharged V8 engines and have over 500bhp -but do they really justify their nearly £100,000 price tags? Watch our video review to find out.

• BMW M6 Gran Coupe review

• Audi RS7 review

The BMW M6 costs just under £98,000 and features a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 with 552bhp and 680Nm of torque. It'll sprint from 0-60 in just 4.2 seconds before hitting a limited top speed of 155mph.

The Audi has a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 yet despite being down on capacity compared to the BMW it produces the same bhp and has even more torque with a huge 700Nm. Once again top speed is limited to 155mph, but it hits 60 in just 3.9 seconds.

So, what's the Audi like to drive? Well, the first thing is that it's so hard to use the performance on the road - it's just so fast that it's impossible to put it into use.

The one thing the Audi does have is quattro all-wheel drive and a clever sport differential - that means it doesn't have any of the traction issues that you get in the M6, and it doesn't work it's stability control as hard. There's lots of grip, but the problem is it's just a bit inert - there's not a lot of feel in the steering.

Also, the suspension is a bit odd. The ride isn't great - in fact it's pretty awful - and all in all it's not a particularly engaging car despite its speed. It's quite hard to love this car despite the fact that the engine is so great.

So how does the BMW compare? If anything the BMW engine has a little bit more character than the Audi engine and there's certainly more fizz to the driving experience. It's not perfect and it troubles the traction control quite a lot on a wet road, though.

The biggest problem for this car in a way, though isn't the Audi - it's the M6's sister car, the M5. This car is substantially more expensive than the M5 - about £25,000 more than an M5 - and it doesn't offer a huge amount more in terms of driving.

So the BMW is the best to drive but it's also the nicest to sit in, with its stylish interior and sporty wrap-around cockpit. The Audi's still feels posh and is loaded with gadgets but it lacks the BMW's wow factor. However with its hatchback boot the Audi is the more practical of the pair.

It might cost a lot more money than the BMW M5 but we'd go for the M6 Gran Coupe - it looks great, sounds fantastic and most importantly it's more fun to drive than the Audi RS7.