Without a twin-turbo V6 engine under its hood anymore, enthusiasts are curious to see how the new Mercedes-AMG C43 fares around the track. To answer this question, the German magazine Sport Auto took the electrified sedan to Hockenheim for a hot lap of the circuit's Grand Prix layout. It needed 2 minutes and 2.3 seconds, thus making it 1.1 seconds slower than its main rival – the BMW M340i xDrive – tested a while back by the same journalists.
Looking at other lap times published by Sport Auto, the 2023 AMG C43 was faster than the M340i xDrive Touring but slower than the rear-wheel-drive M240i. The Renault Megane RS Trophy-R with its FWD layout lapped the Hockenheim GP in 1 minute and 59.2 seconds. These two are not direct rivals since one is a luxury sedan with performance chops while the other is a purpose-built hot hatch meant to go fast around a race track. Nevertheless, it's always interesting to see lap time comparisons between two sporty cars.
