Ah, the executive coupe. Designed for the man-about-town that needs to cruise the streets between meetings, but wants a bit of style while doing it. Not for him the four doors of the family saloon.

For some, the ultimate expression of this dynamic desire comes with an extra letter. Whether it’s M or AMG, the extra digits at the end of the car’s name signifies serious performance desire. These are the best compact executive coupes from BMW and Mercedes-Benz, providing business transport during the wheel and the power to thrash at the weekends. But how do they compare?

The C63 AMG Coupe is one of the newest luxury power coupes on the block. Based on the latest generation of C-Class it was unleashed by AMG last year with a 451bhp 6.2-litre V8 powering the rear wheels. But our version has the optional AMG Performance Package (at a cost of an extra $7033), which ups the available power to 480bhp.

But how does it compare to the historical daddy? The E92 BMW M3 Coupe has been around for five years now, but it’s still well loved. With 414bhp from its 4.0-litre V8, it’s giving away grunt to the C63, but it’s not exactly slow. We’re intrigued to see how it matches up with the bruiser from Affalterbach.

Our test M3 has been borrowed from friendly UAE BMW dealer Abu Dhabi Motors. It sits resplendent in a deep blue metallic paint with a carbon spoiler and roof specified. It’s not quite factory standard however – ADM has added an Akrapovic exhaust that gives the car a deep rasping note and a crackle on the overrun, although it doesn’t add much, if any power.