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4.6 seconds, with top speed limited to
250km/h. That’s fast, especially when
you consider this is essentially a FWD car,
with the rear wheels only coming into play
when the fronts start to slip up. This car
is fast and on a public road, you’ll forever
be trying to keep your speed in check lest
you be labelled a menace.
The trouble is, it just seems to always
egg you on. The engine has a naughty
burble even on light throttle applications
and the A45 is always straining on its leash
to be let loose. Pin the accelerator to the
floor and the initial reaction is fear, quickly
followed by an adrenalin rush and then
manic laughter interspersed with some
exaggerated exhaust pops as you flick
the column-mounted paddles to select
another gear.
With so much torque available, it’s
a wonder the front tyres can point in a
Merc’s Muscle Bound Motor
Car
Review
Apowerful engine in a small car is the secret to the speed of
theMercedes-Benz A45AMG.
W
hen
thinking of performance
cars, the name Mercedes-
Benz isn’t the first to come
to mind. The German luxury
carmaker is better known
for the cosseting ride and
smooth performance of their
cars, but there is a lunatic fringe in a the municipality
of Affalterbach who love to add speed and drama to
regular Mercs.
AMG was acquired by Mercedes-Benz in 1999 and
is now the performance division within the company.
Over the last 15 years, they’ve created some spectacular
cars and added halomodels to almost every product line.
The A45 AMG, however, could be their most successful
car yet.
Based on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, the A45 takes
the typical formula for creating a hot hatch but adds lots
of German muscle to the mix. Despite using a 2.0-litre
four-cylinder engine, it develops 360hp at 6000rpm and
450Nmat 2250rpm, giving it an amazing figure of 180hp/
litre thanks to a twin-scroll turbocharger and the magic
wielded by AMG’s famed engine builders.
Mated to the engine is a seven-speed SPEEDSHIFT
DCT gearbox, and drive is directed to all four wheels via
Merc’s 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system. The combination
of these elements results in a 0-100km/h time of just
W o r d s :
F a i s a l S h a h