GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Benz Ushers in hottest A-Class
Mercedes-AMG uses Usher to launch its A 45 AMG hot hatch at GenevaAMG used US musician Usher twice in two days to help launch it’s a 45 AMG hot hatch at the Geneva motor show this week.
A self-confessed AMG fan, Usher was paid enough to appear in a driving video shot behind Benz’s Stuttgart HQ and two walk-on Q&A sessions, but the 265kW all-paw baby brute could easily have spoken for itself.
Even surrounded by the SLS Black Series, the production version of the CLA and the SLS Electric Drive, the A 45 was clearly the star of the show.
Benz showed one in matt metal grey and another with every wacky sports add-on it could think of, including an outrageous rear wing, racing stripes and larger wheels.
Promising a 0-100km/h time of just 4.6 seconds, the A 45 effectively raises the bar for Germany’s other premium hot hatch makers, with both BMW’s M and Audi’s quattro already signaling they’re working to chase it down.
Volkswagen, though, has hinted that the next Golf R will concede the high horsepower ground to the Mercedes.
Despite its outrageous power output that delivers 133kW per litre, the A45 also boasts an NEDC fuel economy figure of 6.9L/100km.
It will deliver 450Nm of torque from its 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo engine that also forms the basis of the CLA 45 AMG sedan, which will make its debut at the New York motor show later this month.
“The A 45 AMG will enable AMG to appeal to new customers and tap new markets,” AMG head Ola Kallenius said.
That should be read as AMG trying to lower the age of its target customers and Kallenius admitted it was chasing an age range of between 30 and 45 for the A 45.
The all-wheel drive system also delivers new standards of grip for this class of car, he insisted, but it’s the engine that will be the standout challenge for all of its rivals.
With up to 1.8 bar of turbo pressure, the 140 bar of peak pressure inside the engine forced AMG to mass-produce parts normally considered the domain of racing cars, like sand-cast engine blocks and crankcases, forged steel crankshafts and spray-guided direct fuel-injectors.
The engine comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which is flange-mounted onto the engine block. It includes a Race Start function for maximum getaway speed, fast shifts, double-declutching downshifts and three different driving modes.
While most were pointing out that Audi’s five-cylinder turbo motor for the TTRS Plus can’t match the A45’s engine, some more observant noters wondered just how close Mitsubishi would have come to its output had it been allowed to continue developing its own 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engines for its Lancer Evo series.
For our full coverage head to motoring.com.au for the latest Geneva motor show news
Photo gallery of 2013 Geneva motor show at motoring.com.au
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