A45 AMG Confirmed… In Europe.

We basically knew this was coming, but now we can say for certain there’ll be an AMG version of the new A-Class. At first that might not seem that exciting. Small cars from Mercedes have traditionally been anything but exciting. We thought the AMG version would be little more than another euro hot hatch.

That was the case, before we found out the A45 will be putting out close 370hp. With AWD. That’s not hot. That’s on fire.

Turbo 2.0L engines are nothing new, but ones with that kind of output are generally named WRX and Evolution. Though, it’s probably not fair to compare it to those rally inspired rockets. They’re carrying full on AWD while the A45 will likely have an added rear diff. It is a front wheel drive car normally, meaning the engine is transversely mounted and all the weight will be up front. At 3,300 lbs it’s not exactly a feather weight either. 

In reality, it’s competition wears four rings and goes by the name RS3. Audi’s super small, super fast hatch back follows a similar formula, albeit with less power. However, like the RS3, there’s little chance we’ll see it in the states. I guess we’ll just have to watch the hot hatch rivalry from afar.