Yes, that’s right, the little “hot hatch” from Mercedes-Benz, the A45 AMG has just been put up against the much bigger, more expensive and more powerful CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake and it beat it! AutoExpress discovered that the smaller and cheaper car was measurably faster over the standard quarter mile, in a result which really surprised us as well.
The CLS, powered by a 5.5-liter V8 engine with twin turbos, was beaten by the A-Class model that has a 2.0-liter single-turbo engine. The former makes 518 hp, while the latter trails it with just 355 hp. The result may seem somewhat incredible, but with the considerably lower weight, faster dual-clutch gearbox and all-wheel drive, it does make a bit of sense now that we take a step back and think…
This video, and the fact that the A45 AMG was two-tenths of a second faster by the end of the race will undoubtedly please the younger buyers Mercedes is desperately trying to call out to.
While the A45 may be cheaper than the rest of the AMG range, at £37,845 in the UK, or $44,660 / €59,300, it is by no means affordable performance, and the young buyers will need serious backing from their parents.
By Andrei Nedelea
VIDEO