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Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG is Affalterbach's first big leap into the little pond

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 08:01:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Hatchback, Mercedes-Benz, Autoline on Autoblog, Luxury

The recent history of AMG is turning out amped-up versions of Mercedes-Benz offerings that would hardly ever be mistaken for their sedate counterparts. Sure, you'd need to pay attention to pick a G-Class from the G63 AMG, but dual side-pipes are a quick giveaway. The Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG is not only a new era in Affalterbach's attention on smaller cars, it is probably also the most subtle transformation we can think of in the line-up.

Low and chunky enough in standard guise to make a sporting impression, the aesthetic makeover is confined to black trim around the lower rim of the hatch, black wheels with red brake calipers and a single, rectangular exhaust tip on either side of the diffuser. It's easier to make a positive ID inside, where the flat-bottomed steering wheel, red seatbelts and red-rimmed details say, "You know what I am..."

If the car is running, though, it won't take but a second. The 2.0-liter turbo spitting 360 horsepower and 332 pound-feet will grumble through a sport exhaust at idle, and bellow through the same on it's way to a 0-60 time of less than 4.5 seconds. And if you need something that looks a little harder - and you want those quad pipes - then the A45 AMG Edition 1 is the treasure you seek. There's a press release below for all the info you'll need until the hot hatch goes on sale in Germany later this year, and photos for the rest of us while we wait to find out if we'll get a chance to buy it.

Continue reading Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG is Affalterbach's first big leap into the little pond

Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG is Affalterbach's first big leap into the little pond originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Mar 2013 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG shows up to fight the hottest hatches [w/videos]

Jeffrey N. Ross — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Hatchback, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury

Fun coincidence. On the same day that Audi announces the unveiling of its new S3 Sportback at the Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz steals the spotlight by confirming that the all-new A45 AMG will also receive its official debut early next month. Starting life as the entry-level A-Class hatchback, the A45 AMG gets the full AMG treatment, which includes numerous performance, handling and styling upgrades.

Under the hood sits an AMG-tuned 2.0-liter turbocharged I4 breathing through a sport exhaust system helping the five-door produce 360 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. This engine is paired to a seven-speed AMG dual-clutch transmission and power is sent to the ground using 4Matic all-wheel drive. Mercedes-Benz says that the A45 AMG will be able to accelerate from 0-60 miles per hour in under 4.5 seconds and it will have a top speed of 155 mph; in the land of hot hatches, it doesn't get much hotter than that. For added performance and handling, AMG has retuned the A-Class' suspension and steering systems and equipped The A45 with a three-stage stability control system that is specific to this car.

Surprisingly, the exterior styling of the A-Class was already sporty enough that the new model doesn't receive too many changes to become the A45 AMG. The biggest alterations include black accents to the chin spoiler, rocker panels and mirror caps, black wheels with red-painted brake calipers and rectangular dual exhaust outlets. Inside, it doesn't take a trained eye to spot the differences. The flat-bottomed sport steering wheel and the numerous red accents throughout the cabin (including the seatbelts!) really help to make this AMG interior stand out; front passengers will also get sport bucket seats that appear to be more than supportive enough for even the most spirited driving conditions.

The A45 AMG goes on sale in June for German buyers, but North American availability has not been announced yet. Scroll down for a couple of videos (including great engine sound!) and the full press release with all of the details for the new A45 AMG. Sit tight and we'll have live pictures and impressions from Switzerland for you in just a few weeks.

Continue reading Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG shows up to fight the hottest hatches [w/videos]

Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG shows up to fight the hottest hatches [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Feb 2013 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG spied in Sweden

Jeffrey N. Ross — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Spy Photos, Performance, Crossover, Mercedes-Benz

We've spotted the all-new Mercedes-Benz GLA testing a couple times in recent months in getting closer to production form and shedding camouflage, but now it looks like we're see our first look at the AMG version of this compact crossover. The low ride height might trick some into thinking that we're just seeing the already-confirmed A45 AMG out testing, but the unique beltline, rear doors and side windows confirm this is some version of the GLA-Class.

What makes us so confident that this is the AMG model? Well, for starters, this prototype has beefier brakes with cross-drilled front and rear rotors and bigger front calipers, but it also sports dual exhaust outlets poking through the rear fascia and a suspension that has been lowered considerably. Our spy shooters said that this car's exhaust note made it almost certainly an AMG model.

Just to be clear, the GLA AMG will not be powered by a 4.5-liter engine. The closely related A45 AMG will carry the "45" in its name to celebrate the first 45 years of AMG, and our sources seem to indicate the AMG version of the GLA will do the same. We're expecting this sporty crossover to produce as much as 350 horsepower from its AMG-tuned four-cylinder engine, and like the all-new E63 AMG, it could very well come standard with 4Matic all-wheel drive.

With the standard GLA-Class not expected to debut until this fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the GLA45 AMG might have to wait until sometime next year to get its official introduction; although, as a note, Mercedes-Benz did reveal all of its E-Class models (including the E63 AMG) at the same this week at the Detroit Auto Show.

Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG spied in Sweden originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch Mercedes-Benz's new A-Class in an anime adventure

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:46:00 EST

Filed under: Japan, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Mercedes-Benz

What do you do with a new success? Work it. The still-warm A-Class is already the most successful launch in Mercedes-Benz history, yet the German brand is still coming up with new ways to show it off to more people. The latest example comes from Mercedes' Japanese outpost, which has created an anime series for the compact hatch called "Next A-Class." The new video shorts are part of the promotion ahead of the model's launch in Japan this January.

The futuristic, city-shifting action centers around a mythical, mystical noodle truck, the hitch being that you have to somehow find it and then actually catch it before you can buy anything from it. Thankfully, the protagonists have an A45 AMG to do the trick. An insider's note: the noodle truck is based on the 1955 Blue Wonder, an actual Fifties-era race transporter powered by the inline six from the 300SL Gullwing. Check out the series' first installment below.

Continue reading Watch Mercedes-Benz's new A-Class in an anime adventure

Watch Mercedes-Benz's new A-Class in an anime adventure originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMG vehicles pose for family portrait to celebrate 45-year anniversary, tease future

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 18:03:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Sedan, Performance, SUV, Wagon, Crossover, Hatchback, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury

A 45th anniversary isn't one we're used to breaking out the Perrier-Jouet for, but since the anniversary in question happens to celebrate AMG, we'll get some corks flying. The biggest news this year for the in-house tuning arm of Mercedes-Benz is the A45 AMG, representing not just an unexpected end of the pool for AMG to dive into, but an entirely new - and compact - body of water. More than a makeover of the A-Class, it is the first peek at the makeover of AMG as it prepares for the "AMG Performance 50" on its 50th anniversary.

The initiative will include "additional high-performance compact cars" and a bump from 22 AMG vehicles to 30. There are eight models under wraps in the photo, three of them look to be hatchbacks, one in the left row of three and two in the back row of five. One of them is certainly the A45 AMG, another one could be a B-Class AMG model. In that back row between the two hatches is what looks like a tiny crossover that could suggest a GLA AMG, and the two cars on the left of that row look like two small coupes, one of them perhaps the SLC. The last two cars, next to the SUVs, are a large sedan in front, perhaps the 2013 S-Class, and in the rear what looks like another coupe of unknown provenance - or maybe the CLA? And where is the dead-sexy CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake?

Other AMG directives are more efficient powertrains throughout the range, development of lighter construction techniques, more all-wheel drive models beyond CUVs, more AMG Performance Centers, becoming the sole development center for Mercedes' V12 engines and a hint that lines like the CL63 AMG and CL65 AMG "will be extended further over the coming years." Scroll down for all the details on AMG's five-year plans.

Continue reading AMG vehicles pose for family portrait to celebrate 45-year anniversary, tease future

AMG vehicles pose for family portrait to celebrate 45-year anniversary, tease future originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG 2.0 turbo good for crazy 185 HP per liter

Matt Davis — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Europe, Hatchback, Mercedes-Benz

We have just joined the journalist hordes in Affalterbach for some early peeks at AMG's imminent future, and the downsizing trend is really catching on, even here with Mercedes-Benz and its traditionally big-engined high-performance arm.

The biggest news was the smallest news: a really hot-looking high-performance A-Class model dubbed A45 AMG that will take it to the soon-to-be tested BMW M135i and future Audi RS3. Specific numbers are not out, but engine bosses tell us to expect around 370 hp and 300 pound-feet of torque. The engine is all-new: a twin-scroll turbocharged 2.0-liter called M133 and based loosely on the Daimler 2.0-liter turbocharged unit. If those figures are accurate, that would mean the M133 has the greatest true series-production power-per-liter rating in the world. This is the first AMG engine not built at Affalterbach, but at Daimler's state-of-the-art four-cylinder assembly plant at Kölleda, but the "one man, one engine" approach remains unscathed.

Word has it that the United States and Canada most likely will not get this wee AMG, but we hear this same powertrain with strengthened seven-speed dual-clutch transmission will come to us in a four-door CLA 45 AMG version, and possibly also in a smaller crossover vehicle based on the modular chassis beneath the A- and B- Class ranges.

Continue reading Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG 2.0 turbo good for crazy 185 HP per liter

Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG 2.0 turbo good for crazy 185 HP per liter originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes-Benz taking aim at Audi RS3 with new A45 AMG

Noah Joseph — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 07:58:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Hatchback, Mercedes-Benz

With the launch of the new A-Class, Mercedes-Benz is getting serious about the premium hatchback segment - much more than it was with the previous A-Class, B-Class and the old, C-Class Sport Coupe. And with the premium hatchback territory comes the high-end hot hatch market. Audi is already playing that game with the RS3 and BMW is heading in with the new M135i, so Mercedes is going to need an entry of its own. And this is the latest on its development.

According to British weekly Autocar, Benz is preparing to launch a new A45 AMG early next year with a transverse 2.0-liter turbo four producing as much as 330 horsepower and over 300 pound-feet of torque. That's about par with the competition, but produced from less displacement thanks to input from AMG High-Performance Engines that provides the power for the company's Formula One racing team (not to mention McLaren and Force India).

The power is tipped to be put down to all four wheels by a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, tuned to mimic rear-drive handling characteristics. Suspension and rolling stock are anticipated to be greatly enhanced, as will the aero kit over the A250 Sport "engineered by AMG" pictured above. Stop/start and regenerative braking will reportedly help make the A45 AMG more economical than its rivals while matching their five-second 0-60 times.

Mercedes-Benz taking aim at Audi RS3 with new A45 AMG originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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