By: Jesse Adams in Hanover, Germany
Give both shift paddles a simultaneous tug to engage Race Start launch control. Confirm intentions with a quick paddle up and then thump both the brake and throttle.
The next few moments take on an almost WRC-like intensity, with a series of high pressure pops from the tailpipes as the turbo charges its full 1.8 bars through a stationary drivetrain. Lifting the brake relieves all the constrained savagery, and for a split second all four wheels spin in search of purchase. Just 4.6 seconds later, you’ve reached 100km/h and the car’s continuing to charge ahead dismissing each of its seven forward gears in synapses that most brains can’t compete with.
With 2-litre turbo engines dishing up goods, the flavour here isn’t typical AMG. The CLA45 small sedan and A45 hatch launched to the world in Germany last week don’t even come close to their current V8 and V12-powered family members in terms of outright thuggery, but their potency shouldn’t be underestimated.
These are genuine AMGs and they’ve got numbers to prove it.
Mercedes may have chosen an uneventful displacement that’s matched to your average hot hatch, but with 265kW and 450Nm this is the most powerful four-cylinder in series production.
Golf GTIs, Focus STs and Astra OPCs are child’s play in comparison. Until McLaren launched its P1 hypercar, this was also a world record holder for specific output per litre.
WORLDS APART
You’ll probably recognise this Mercedes A-Class body as the same one launched last month in South Africa in more ordinary front-wheel drive non-AMG guises. But mechanically speaking, the A45 (and CLA45 that shares the same chassis) are almost nothing alike.
The engine shares only its timing chain with the normal A250 Sport; the Speedshift DCT seven-speed gearbox is the same only in its housing (but with an offshoot sending power to the rear); and the suspension system is completely unique with new mounting points and geometry.
On the road it could be a totally different car too. The turbo boosts with ferocity incomparable to the 250 Sport, and there’s a between-gear bark from the exhaust familiar to GTIs with DSG gearboxes, only much, much louder. Similarly to the SLK 55, there’s an active flap in the exhaust that closes for a quieter sound under partial throttle, and opens for a more freeflow shout under pressure.
While pottering around town the drivetrain performs like a normal front-wheel drive car would, with all power transmitted to the front axle only. But, when a lack of traction is detected, a multi-disc clutch at the rear differential can engage variably, and for short bursts can thieve 100 percent of the engine’s power, effectively making this car rear-wheel drive.
On the track, where I was able to test the A45 AMG in full aggression, it’s possible to feel the rear diff engage with a definitive thud on corner exits where maximum grip is critical. And, like any all-wheel drive car (or any car whatsoever for that matter), understeer will rear its ugly head if provoked with silly corner entries, but if driven properly the A45 and CLA45 AMGs will reward handsomely.
I’d say this AMG duo is capable of dynamism far beyond the abilities of most drivers, and also well in excess of stereotypical hot hatches.
TUNED TO PERFECTION
There are two suspensions available (a Performance system is a R8500 option) and paired with 18” alloys both are quite firm. But, even over rough surfaces I never felt either was over the top. Ride quality is just that – quality.
The steering too, is also tuned to perfection in terms of weight and sensitivity, and if I didn’t know it was electronically-assisted I would never have guessed. A beautiful hydraulic feel here.
Of course these two model derivatives will attract different buyers. The A45 will inevitably be more popular in our hatch obsessed market, and there are some fine tunings to make it appeal to this type of buyer. Next to the CLA45 sedan, which looks like a miniature CLS, the A45 gets a slightly firmer suspension and also a slightly louder exhaust. Mercedes says the CLA, being the more practical of the two, is more suited to longer drives with a bigger boot and more muffled (but still snap-crackly) exhaust tone.
Pricing is an interesting topic. Mercedes-Benz SA has confirmed the A45 AMG will be introduced here in September at a price of R555 000, and while quite pricey for a hot hatch, it’s almost half the price of the next AMG in the range, the C63. There’s also not quite anything else like it in the current market, with the closest bang-for-buck competitor, Audi’s RS3, now discontinued.
The CLA, in normal and AMG trim, will be shown at the Johannesburg Motor Show in October, with local sales starting shortly afterwards. It will carry quite a premium over its hatch counterpart, with the AMG setting you back R674 400. -Star Motoring
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