[HG Motorsports] CLA 45 AMG Buttonwillow Track Test
 

As Targa Trophy sponsors and competitors in the Global Time Attack series, we decided to join the two groups at Buttonwillow Raceway and bring all three of our CLAs for a rainy track test. Here are some pictures of our nearly-stock CLA 45 AMG which was incredibly competitive. Its only modification is an exhaust dump after the downpipe (effectively eliminating the rest of the exhaust system resulting in a very aggressive sound). All 3 of our CLAs are sitting on HRE Flowform wheels and Toyo tires. We were able to take first place in the Targa Trophy TT2 class which shows the potential of this awesome new platform. This car won't be stock for much longer, we have big plans for our little AMG!

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Be sure to keep an eye out for the HG Motorsports CLAs at track days and rallies throughout California, we look forward to meeting fellow CLA owners!

Any sound clip of what the car sounds like with the exhaust dump?

very nice! can't wait to see you guys at the track with it.

I assume that your Toyo's are R888's in 235/35/19? Any other wheel/tire choices for track duty?

That's correct, we've only tested these CLAs with the HRE wheels and Toyo tires (R888, Proxes T1, and R1R) but we offer the full range of HRE wheels and are also a BBS direct dealer. The CLAs will see a lot of track time in 2014 so we'll be running a bunch of different suspension setups ranging from simple lowering springs, to fully adjustable coilovers, and even Accuair airbags and we will also look into different tires in various sizes to see how they perform.

The only video I took was with my iPhone and all you can hear is a much louder Nissan GTR, I'll be sure to take some higher quality video next time with a real camera because it really does sound cool. We are nearly ready to offer our catback exhaust and downpipe upgrades for the CLA 250, once those are complete we will develop similar upgrades for the AMG's motor so we will definitely have sound clips of those products as soon as possible.

wat was the lap time?

I heard it was 2:11 in the damp.

2:11 sounds right, as far as I can tell Targa Trophy still hasn't released the results so I'm going from memory. We ran seven cars in Targa and GTA so I could be wrong.