Clarkson: head to head in the C63 AMG Black and M3 GTS

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 wheelarches 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.