[Davil]

COLOURFUL TROOP

It's really colorful here, "says photographer Lena, when we meet to produce these three sports cannons in the picturesque Altmühltal. Indeed: No white, no silver, but three beautifully contrasting colors and a cautiously smiling sun - good conditions for a nice photo spread in the magazine.

However, color is not limited to the (lacquer) surfaces of the competitors. Even under the sheet, there are very different means to achieve the same goal: to achieve the best performance on the racetrack, which is particularly true of the top athletes in their respective BMW M2 CS and A 45 S 4Matic + series. The Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 in the Cayman GT4 has a big brother that is even more specifically designed for lap times. Although he shares the four-liter boxer engine with it, it delivers 400 instead of 420 hp in the GT4, its aerodynamic refinements are lacking, and it stands on fully everyday road tires. This also distinguishes it from M2 and A45S, both of which compete on wet-sensitive high-performance tires.
Colorfulness can be found under the sheets or the carbon parts, because the M2 CS not only comes with a chic roof made of carbon, it also uses the light material for the bonnet.

The three vehicle and drive concepts are also very heterogeneous. The BMW, positioned by its builders as a "high-performance vehicle above the M2 Competition" in the premium compact class, relies on the classic sports car drive concept with front engine and rear drive - BMW is also traditional Six-cylinder in-line engine, but here with double forced ventilation. The 718 Cayman GTS is a sports car and combines a mid-engine layout with the typical Porsche six-cylinder boxer, which is allowed to rev up without turbo support. Finally, the AMG comes from a rather well-behaved compact family and slides far into the sporting realm here thanks to a brutally high-pressure two-liter four-cylinder with turbo support. The rear wheels come into play with the clever 4Matic + all-wheel drive so that the compact, which is by nature a front-wheel drive, can convert its violent performance into appropriate propulsion.

Quite a bit of effort, therefore, that AMG has done to turn a well-behaved, high-volume model into an AMG - and the A 45 S confidently demonstrates that. With a lowered front ("Sharknose"), wide fenders with flared wheel arches and the expressive front apron, it makes a clear announcement; the rear shows performance attributes such as the wide apron, double tailpipes or the striking roof spoiler. The body stiffeners remain invisible, which in total ensure greater driving stability. The sporty look continues in the interior with a lot of sparkling chrome - the A 45 S shows its sporty claim with every fiber.

The BMW does that too, but in a completely different way. After the M-Kur, its muscular basic form, which is already muscular in the large-scale production series, turns into an appetizingly trained model athlete who proudly shows the closeness to the jointly developed club sport racer CS Racing. The demarcation from the M2 Competition can be seen visually from a lot of visible carbon, the carbon bonnet with the striking air inlet in the middle is only half as heavy as the sheet metal counterpart and together with the carbon roof lowers the center of gravity. The interior of the M2 CS has a pleasantly unexcited effect: although chrome also flashes here, the bling-bling effect is significantly less pronounced. If the huge monitor in the AMG with its countless configuration options tends to wake up the game drive of the touchscreen generation, the M2 CS with analog instruments and a pleasantly tidy cockpit looks more adult and relaxed. The "virtual race engineer" Track Pace (298 euros) of the AMG is very popular as a Trackday fan, because it not only shows the lap time, it also divides the track into sectors and helps to optimize the line.

The exterior of the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS prevails
black contrasting add-on parts (spoiler lip, air intakes, rear lights and diffuser) from its less specialized series brothers. Dark Alcantara in the interior reliably creates a sporty ambience. The analog instruments are a perfect match for the boxer vacuum cleaner, which is turbolosly as directly on the gas as the needle on the rev counter - a perfect relationship.

The different characters of the three test candidates are of course not only evident in their external appearance. The three different drive concepts with their different philosophies and their specific way of achieving top performance fit the overall picture quite well.

The A 45 S, which was transformed from a tame family compact to a high-performance athlete with a lot of effort, is particularly noticeable because of its tremendous will to occupy a top position in its segment. The engine is a superlative: With a liter output of 211 hp per liter (for comparison: a Ferrari F8 Tributo has 185 hp / l), Mercedes-AMG can boast, the most powerful supercharged large-series four-cylinder engine to have in the program. 421 hp (with 6850 tours) and 500 Nm torque between 5000 and 5250 tours almost blow up the compact class to which the A-Class belongs. There is also an all-wheel drive, which with two electronically controlled multi-plate clutches not only perfectly distributes the power between the rear wheels as required, but also has a drift mode.

In addition to this show-capable ability, the A 45 S has a simple and effective launch-start function that we used to carry out the acceleration measurements. This means that even the inexperienced can do the sprint in the 3.9 seconds specified by the factory, in which the all-wheel drive is of course heavily involved. One can only guess what it would be like with front-wheel drive, because the two-liter engine, which works with a maximum charge pressure of 2.1 bar, gets extremely powerful to the point after sorting out a gas command, that is, the corresponding ones , lower gear and boost pressure has built up. It all works very well and impressively, but it also looks very violent and rugged. You notice what you miss when you change the BMW M2 CS with 450PS and 550Nm (at 2350-5500 tours).
On the one hand there is the more distinctive sound of the in-line six, which, although it does not match the legendary old vacuum cleaners or the pre-OPF (bi) turbos, brings out more depth and melody from its short liter of displacement. It is based on the aggregate of the M4 Competition. A launch function is also on board here, which is very finely tuned and makes up a lot of ground, especially on the first few meters immediately after starting off. Also thanks to the high-grip Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 (*) specially mixed for the M2 CS, the stringy Bavarian even undercuts the factory specification by a tenth of a second. In comparison to the extremely hot-spinning A 45 S, it has a smoother, more uniform and, above all, more easy-turning ability. This extremely pleasant characteristic brings the M2 CS close to a naturally aspirated engine, which is as important as the driving experience and responsiveness. Storms M2 and A 45 to 100 km / h exactly nose to nose (3.9 s), the 40 kilo lighter BMW pulls away with increasing speed.

If you want to enjoy the full Vmax of limited 270 km / h, you have to order the Driver's Package from Mercedes-AMG for 1666 euros. BWM, on the other hand, leaves its reins on its M2 CS ex works for no longer and at no extra cost and only brakes the urge to accelerate electronically at 280 km / h. Such shackles have always been foreign to Porsche, which is why the 718 Cayman GTS is allowed to run 293 km / h free of charge.

The manual six-speed gearshift of the Porsche is clearly captivating, especially in the era of the ubiquitous double couplers. It is also available with PDK, but those who like to lend a hand are very well served with the excellent manual gearbox. But how much time does self-switching cost when spotting? As usual, the boxer rattles wonderfully in the rear, the vacuum naturally does not have the pressure of the biturbos at low revs, but at the latest when you turn it off and properly demand the four-liter unit, it increases again properly. Although there is also a launch function here, measurement driver Guido Naumann achieved a better value with precise manual and footwork: 4.2 seconds instead of the factory-set 4.5 seconds go up to 100 km / h, which makes the lighter Cayman in the Test field in the back.

It achieves its peak performance at high speeds and shows the rear lights to the competition up to 250 km / h. Will that be so clear at the Lausitzring? Rather not, because as mentioned at the beginning, the 718 is the only one on road tires. Although he is the weakest of the trio, he is also 162 (M2) and 201 kilograms (AMG) lighter than his opponents.

With the shelliest - and most expensive - seats in this comparison, the Cayman shows right after the first corners that it is in its element here. As usual at Porsche, the GTS transmits the (grip) condition of the front axle to the driver's hand only a little filtered via the usual narrow steering wheel, while the right hand guides the shift lever of the crisp transmission through the alleys. The trumpeting of the engine based on the Carrera architecture sucks in the Cayman on the racing line around the track; With its slightly rear-weight distribution and the mid-engine layout, it is extremely agile and curve-hungry. But while Caymane usually pulls the line almost in one line, the GTS shows a certain unrest. "The 4.0 is always on the move, the rear pushes when braking, and understeers easily in long bends," reports Guido, praising the sound and engine and raving about the brakes. In the end, the stopwatch says 1: 35.48 minutes - only five tenths faster than the four-cylinder GTS.

The AMG grabs you when you turn in for the first time, because you rarely find such a snappy front axle, although it is here that the AMG Torque Control on the rear wheels, which regulates each axle, also helps the A 45 S to get ahead. Its rear end is easy in curves, but you cannot move the AMG without overdriving without drift mode. That is why the wild compact ultimately tracks the cleanest over the ideal line, the most extreme tires (Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R) in comparison are very well adapted to the ABS. In the end, the fastest compact takes a good half a second off the everyday Cayman GTS and clocks with 1: 34.93 minutes.

The BMW M2 CS also has very good bucket seats, even as standard here, which promise the best upholstery and the greatest long-distance comfort from all three.

With an extremely thick beaded steering wheel, the M2 CS storms over the piste, remains very calm when braking, even smoothes over the curbs in Sport Plus and sits exactly between AMG and 718 in terms of driving behavior. Whether true to the line and stable or with light weight , gently deploying and perfectly controllable rear swivel: The BMW oscillates perfectly between driving fun and clean lines - the decision is made by the driver's right foot. We look at the clock: eight tenths faster than the AMG. The M2 CS wins the track battle in 1: 34.11 minutes.