AMG eyes hot hatch business

AMG has put its hand up to build a hot version of the next generation Mercedes-Benz A-Class. Still two to three years away, many features of the next generation A-Class are already starting to coalesce. The most exciting of which is that AMG will look to market a stove-hot version of the car to take on the likes of the Golf GTI, BMW 1 Series and other fast and furious compact Euros.

AMG boss Volker Mornhinweg confirmed his company's intention in discussions with the Carsales Network at Detroit's North American International Auto Show this week.

Though Mercedes will retain the existing A-Class chassis' sandwich construction for electric and fuel-cell models, those models will diverge from the A per se. The next generation A will in fact use a more conventional front/all-wheel drive platform.

The cars are tipped to use 'normal' transverse four-cylinder engines and though Mercedes chief designer, Gorden Wagener confirmed at the Paris Motor Show late last year that the carmaker would not build notchback versions of the new car, it is implicit that three and five-door versions will be offered, but a coupe can't be ruled out either.

Mornhinweg believes the all-new car presents a significant opportunity for AMG.

"There is absolutely a big opportunity for us because with the current platform it's difficult to fulfill the product characteristics that we need. This new platform opens up for us a good opportunity to come up with a new segment [for AMG] below C-Class," the AMG boss told the Carsales Network.

Mornhinweg says his operation has begun "analysis and research" of what sort of models it might offer and the performance levels it can achieve. He doesn't rule out all-wheel drive models. He says the company has already completed "checks and tests" on the A-Class standard powerplants.

"We have a clear definition of what should be an AMG. With that definition we have the opportunity to take a turbo or supercharged [four-cylinder, in the A-Class]. By the end of '09 we should know what sort of car [body style] we are working on and what sort of drivetrain," Mornhinweg revealed.

Last year AMG sold a record of more than 24,200 cars worldwide. According to Mornhinweg the simultaneous sales success of the C 63 and SL 63 models drove the new 20 per cent growth. He warns that AMG's volumes will contract in 2009 but looks positively towards strong performances in 2010 and beyond. It's in this timeframe (Mornhinweg: "far beyond 2010") that the A-AMG will hit the road. We're tipped 2012...

An AMG-fettled A-Class model could provide the company offshoot with a step-change in volume -- last year around 100,000 A-Classes were sold worldwide. If just 10 per cent of these were AMG cars it would boost the company's current volume by more than 40 per cent.

A hot A-Class might also provide the halo car to allow Mercedes-Benz to introduce the line into the USA and better leverage it in performance-oriented markets like Australia. When VW's GTI accounts for better than 40 per cent of Golf volume in both the USA and Australia it's hard not to see the attraction.