BMW against Mercedes, settled in five rounds. The racetrack: the first M3 against the 190 E and its giant wing. The flagship: BMW’s V12 7 Series against the S-Class. The super saloon: M5 against AMG. The supercar: the M1 against the AMG ONE. And the one engine decision that may have decided the whole war. It all started in 1959, when Mercedes almost bought BMW – and was stopped by 10 % of the votes.
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Chapters:
0:00 BMW vs Mercedes
0:41 1959: Mercedes almost buys BMW
1:37 Round 1: the racetrack (M3 vs 190 E)
3:20 Round 2: the flagship (7 Series V12 vs S-Class)
5:09 Round 3: the super saloon (M5 vs AMG)
6:47 Round 4: the supercar (M1 vs AMG ONE)
8:06 Round 5: the engine decision
9:42 The final score and the verdict
Five rounds, one winner. Do you agree with my score – or did I rob one of them? Write YOUR score, round by round, in the comments. And which rivalry should the next file open?
Sources:
1959: BMW Group press; heise autos, 9 Dec 2019; Mercedes-Benz Classic archive
Round 1: Mercedes-Benz Classic archive (190 E 2.3-16, Evolution II, 1992 season); BMW Group press / BMW Group Classic (M3). The wind-tunnel remark is a period anecdote (RM Sotheby’s) – told as a story
Round 2: BMW Group press, “25 years of BMW 12-cylinder engines” (750i); Mercedes-Benz Classic archive (600 SEL, ABS 1978, airbag 1981). “A year and a half late” and “a billion dollars” are widely reported, not Mercedes figures. S-Class total: Daimler, Nov 2019
Round 3: BMW Group press (first M5, M5 2024); Mercedes-Benz USA (AMG Hammer); Carscoops, Mar 2024 (E 53); The Drive, May 2023 (CLS); Motor1, May 2026 (electric AMG GT 4-Door); BMWBLOG, May 2025 (van Meel)
Round 4: BMW Group press (M1); Mercedes-AMG, Jun 2022 (ONE); nuerburgring.de (6:29.090, 23 Sept 2024; record list checked 7 Oct 2026); Guinness World Records (F1 titles)
Round 5: Mercedes-AMG, 21 Sept 2022; evo; Car magazine via Motor1, Jan 2025; Edmunds / auto motor und sport via Motor1 and CarBuzz, Feb 2026; Autocar via Paul Tan, Jul 2025
Sales 2025: BMW Group press (BMW M 213,457); Mercedes-Benz Group (AMG 145,000) – both include the milder M Performance / AMG 35-53 models. WardsAuto, 24 Sept 2026; Carscoops (2016 advert, translated)
The round calls are this channel’s own judgement. No footage of the 1959 meeting or the 1984 race exists: those parts use today’s cars and classic racing.
Footage used under Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 3.0) – thank you to the authors:
Auto Differentials: youtu.be/RrgSBdDktZk
Automotive Shots: youtu.be/vMSuk-YHwlY, youtu.be/LPDk_8Tb984
Autowizja: youtu.be/JEmxKUQJwBI, youtu.be/EH6SugfUwrg
BMW Deutschland: youtu.be/BZRMNbwgv0Y, youtu.be/0U-L8omwiC0, youtu.be/uXXxVmt3KCs, youtu.be/YWjViXYz1gI, youtu.be/xNSxt7PEWBY, youtu.be/HAa0bK-Lpng, youtu.be/c1jn-P0vqWs, youtu.be/MW1YwDs3CN4, youtu.be/bA6zhVvEfhg, youtu.be/2VTSNZipu0A, youtu.be/mB6Oz4Ftxnw, youtu.be/t0fXKuHQb2Q, youtu.be/0spdSTBEawU, youtu.be/loB7GaDtCSg
bond Channel: youtu.be/ldR7w2Qze78
Calvin MotorSport: youtu.be/8sW2SpornB4, youtu.be/bhYZF2UMD8w
Classic-Car.TV: youtu.be/4OvA2TQ2SDk, youtu.be/cuOh80_cD9s
CLS1_AMG: youtu.be/gi1JVpcY9gQ
djverhulst: youtu.be/EPfuxJ9psf0
Empire Motor Club / EWC: youtu.be/wjAaP54rU5E, youtu.be/mpO4WkkfRtw
Ernst Richter: youtu.be/aBbmmHpaOjw
Fast Car Couple: youtu.be/J1Rpo7UPguw, youtu.be/aYCuCJHxUdw
FiExhaust: youtu.be/gC13nT6TLYE, youtu.be/KQbf9YhQrAc
freddytommek: youtu.be/oOG9rf9c_IU
Gui AvantGarde: youtu.be/oIsLz0NaM78
Heup Motorsport: youtu.be/7gVkkRConA4
Jerry´s Classics: youtu.be/9B922uc_610
KaRace: youtu.be/vemKoryN4qo
Luca Zoli: youtu.be/buRyUH2i0pQ
LUZHNOFF: youtu.be/nTXxAwzXKwg
MainlyMotorsport: youtu.be/9SEC-LQuTRs
Mats vd Brand: youtu.be/Qrqt9er9krk
MEC DESIGN: youtu.be/fxEzOwsxaII
Motor1: youtu.be/MWxVKQva1XE
Mr JWW: youtu.be/JxQCt86M_CE
Nathan Mannin: youtu.be/7gKh8JhH8gA
Peter Videos: youtu.be/wN9hZIa767M
power64: youtu.be/4VSbqc86XbQ
Red’n’Yella Production: youtu.be/2KecInql-e0
RT Prod: youtu.be/rpZuyCFYZnM, youtu.be/vR1V5mBDsb8, youtu.be/LI-Rz6a6ehg, youtu.be/co6SVYufEBQ, youtu.be/WSgWf5eXm6U
SCL GLOBAL Concept: youtu.be/7PgSrJhhYyk
Seite 99-CarMedia: youtu.be/AIwnmVNmglA
ShafeiMedia: youtu.be/7_Ugt9Cql50
STACS TV: youtu.be/TCUzuUm_Peo
Streethounds / V8CK: youtu.be/Ip40uHn3gys
Supercars67: youtu.be/0AjK0o_utRQ
Vitmin: youtu.be/Q1Ccmo5SLPw
VITO’S GARAGE: youtu.be/hX9-yJ8nXF4
Vályi István: youtu.be/KBHRnpKy4RU
Stock footage: Pexels. Music: Mixkit. Graphics and sound design: Motor Dossier.
#bmw #mercedes #amg
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