AMG lures youth with new drug

The A45 AMG hot-hatch will be the drug that hooks a whole new generation of buyers on Mercedes-Benz and its AMG performance arm, says the hitherto staid German luxury brand.

Mercedes’ first bona fide performance hatchback will also help lift AMG sales by 50 per cent to 30,000 in 2017, the year the company celebrates its 50th anniversary – says AMG’s engine and powertrain chief Friedrich Eichler.

“With this car we gain a complete new group of customers, much younger than before. You cannot imagine seeing this kind of customer in the old A-Class, but for the new A-Class it’s the right group of customers,” he said.

Recently revealed for the first time in lightly disguised form, the A45 will make its global debut at the 2013 Geneva motor show next March before going on sale in Australia in September.

The turbo-petrol all-wheel drive five-door is also one of seven new vehicles that will take the overall AMG line-up to 30 distinct models by 2017. There will be two others based on the same MFA small car architecture as the A45, one of them a development of the CLA sedan.

An AMG-tuned CLS Shooting Brake is also on the way, while an expansion of the sports car line-up also seems certain.

“We will fill up our fleet so there will be new cars,” confirmed Mr Eichler. “But we look for unoccupied niches, we look for segments in our competitive set because it is very important not to lose that exclusivity.”

Nevertheless AMG recognises the opportunity the A45 represents. In 2012, with sales up 50 per cent in China, it will sell about 20,000 vehicles - an outright record by a massive 39 per cent.

In Australia, AMG’s number six market globally, the A45 is likely to be priced around $80,000 - approximately half the price of the next model up the AMG ladder, the C63 sedan.

“This car will be the entry drug for AMG cars because the price is very attractive,” Mr Eichler said.

Mr Eichler’s team developed the circa-250kW/400Nm turbo-petrol 2.0-litre engine for the A45 from the unit employed in the mainstream A-Class.

“You can say it is a big turbocharger with an engine mounted on it!” he laughed.

He drove the car two weeks at Hockenheimring in back-to-back comparisons against its rivals, claiming it dispensed with the Audi RS3 and BMW M135i, but had a tougher tussle with the 250kW 1 Series M.

“It is a little bit closer, still not in front,” Mr Eichler said. “The 1M was quite good - it was a real competitor. It was a hard nut to crack, but crack it we did.”

Other key technical aspects of the A45 include a high-torque seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, a Magna multi-plate clutch-operated centre differential-equipped all-wheel drive system and revised suspension with widened tracks and a 25mm lower ride height. AMG claims a 5.1-second 0-100km/h time. A power-up pack will be optional.

“The A45 is real fun. In terms of agility, in terms of response,” Mr Eichler said. “We have the twin-scroll turbocharger applied to that engine and it is benchmark in terms of fuel consumption.

“So the mixture between power output and fuel consumption would be the best in the market and that is also part of our philosophy - not only racing up the power but improving the efficiency. Maximum of power and best possible fuel consumption.”

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