Chris Harris interrupts the bad news from Volkswagen to take for a spin in the updated and softer Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG. Don’t worry, that’s softer in a good way, as he explains.
You lot obviously don’t watch Harris’ motor show videos enough so he has spliced his A45 review in among his walk around the Frankfurt Motor Show.
If you think the Volkswagen Golf R wagon is pretty cool, then we reckon you will love this Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG Shooting Brake.
As you’d expect it’s a simple case of stuffing the 265kW/450Nm A45 AMG drivetrain into a Shooting Brake body and regular readers won’t be surprised to learn we think this is the best looking A45 variant you can buy. Or will be able to buy.
For now we’re just getting a preview of the CLA 45 AMG Shooting Brake ahead of its full reveal at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2015.
More detail awaits after the brake, erm, break.
This flaming Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG has put the hot into hot hatch. The smoking Benz erupted into flames shortly after another motorist noticed smoke coming from the bonnet area and suggested the driver pull over.
Details are thin on the ground at this stage but thankfully the driver was able to escape without injury. Fire crews were soon at the scene to extinguish the blaze.
According to NSW Police the cause of the fire was a “mechanical fault”. We’ll endeavour to find out more and if we do we’ll let you know.
[Source: Daily Mail Australia | Thanks to Wayne for the tip]
UPDATE Monday 4 August: AUSmotive contacted Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific for comment this morning. Spokesman David McCarthy replied promptly saying: “Until we have investigated the incident we are not able to comment.” He also said, they are “very keen to know the cause”.
Mercedes-Benz has returned serve to Volkswagen in the increasingly public battle for four-cylinder supremacy.
Recent concepts from Volkswagen and Audi have shown the Volkswagen Group is looking to push beyond the 300kW (400hp) mark with a revised version of its familiar EA888 2.0 litre.
Jochen Martin Schmid, AMG Powertrain Development engineer, has boldly stated Mercedes will win this battle.
“We cannot, and will not, let them get ahead of us,” Schmid declared. “If that means the start of a new power war for four-cylinder cars, then it’s the start of a new power war for four-cylinder cars.”
Schmid gets specific, too, saying the 2.0 litre used in the A45 AMG has more development potential.
“Theirs is based on the EA888, right? That’s a pretty old engine now and ours is a completely new concept with room for development,” he said.
The cause of these power games can be traced back to Volkswagen’s recruitment of Friedrich Eichler, the man who oversaw the introduction of AMG’s first four-cylinder engine, used in the A45. With 265kW/450Nm it currently holds rank as the world’s most powerful production-based four-cylinder engine.
Despite Schmid’s dismissal of the EA888 engine, Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi Chief Technical Officer, is showing faith in his product.
“For production, we have to change the cylinder-head, because in the EA888 it has the exhaust manifold in the cylinder-head now,” Hackenberg explained when talking about the 309kW/450Nm TT quattro sport concept. “With this engine and its output, it produces too much heat in the head to keep it like that, so we have to change it.
“But, apart from swapping in some stronger parts, it can still be made within our production system.”
The net result of all this is the fact it’s looking like the A45 AMG Black Series, or whatever Mercedes has up its sleeve, will have to push beyond 310kW (415hp) if it’s going to win this war.
You know, it’s not all that long ago we used to salivate over the 309kW/430Nm 4.2 litre V8 in the B7 RS4. And soon we’ll be having that sort of power in a Golf-sized hatch. Keep fighting Mercedes and Volkswagen, keep fighting!
[Source: motoring.com.au | Thanks to John for the tip]
Now that the new Golf R has been launched in Australia it’s timely to check out this video from Dutch car mag Auto Week. Up against the Volkswagen are the Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG and VW stablemate the Audi S3.
Remember, all three cars are all-wheel drive and all three use a Haldex-based system.
When watching the video make sure you turn on the English subtitles, otherwise it’ll just be a series of crackles and farts, plus a trio of double-clutch hot hatces.
[Thanks to John for the tip]
Mercedes-Benz makes much of the fact its A45 AMG features the most powerful four-cylinder production engine in the world. But that’s all about to change with word Volkswagen is set to trump the output of the hand-built AMG motor.
The 2.0 litre turbo in the A45 AMG produces 265kW/450Nm and the lab coats from Wolfsburg reckon they can better that with their warmed over 2.0 litre four-pot aiming for a minimum of 283kW (380hp). Volkswagen R engineers also reckon they can push towards 500Nm of torque.
An unnamed VW source claims: “It’s going to be a very fast car. Because it will be able to use all of its torque in first gear, it’s going to get to 100km/h in the very low four-second bracket.”
The A45 AMG limits torque in the first three gears to help protect its dual-clutch transmission. The new Volkswagen engine, able to be fitted to any of the group’s MQB-based cars, will be mated to an all-wheel drive system and specially developed 6-speed DSG which can cope with the predicted torque in all gears.
The engine is “based on an old generation engine block, so it’s cheaper to make than the AMG motor, too, and a lot less complex,” the source added. “It will move the game on again.”
Sounds like fun and games, and that’s just around the Audi and Volkswagen boardrooms as the two stablemates fight over who gets first dibs. Audi thinks its new TT would be a good fit, while Volkswagen has its sights set on the new Scirocco featuring the engine, which should be developed and ready to rumble late next year.
A preview of the engine may come in a concept car later this year, at September’s Paris Motor Show perhaps.
Naturally, Mercedes won’t take any challenge to its power crown lying down, with speculation an A45 AMG Black Series could boast a mighty 300kW.
This is going to be fun!
[Source: motoring.com.au | Thanks Richard to for the tip]
Are you sitting down? You really should sit down for this. Mercedes-Benz funsters AMG are turning the wick up even further on the A45 AMG hyper hatch. Not content with an obviously piss weak 265kW from their 2.0 four pot, they’re planning to stuff 300kW inside the donk before releasing it in an A45 AMG Black Series.
Three hundred kilowatts. Three-zero-zero. From a 2.0 litre four cylinder. Holy crap!
As well as the boost of 35kW over the standard A45 AMG, torque will be given a 50Nm nudge to a new max of 500Nm. This is a hatchback remember, with power to embarrass supercars of only a few years ago. Never mind that, a 911 Carrera S only has 294kW. This thing will be totally nuts. We love it!
To be fair it’s all speculation at this stage with nobody from the three-pointed star willing to offer any insight into this test mule. However, the flared guards do tend to indicate there’s more to this A45 that meets the eye.
[Source: Drive.com.au | Thanks to Richard for the tip]
Here’s a couple of videos bringing you closer to the amazing Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG. You’ll hear a lot of statistics on the A45 AMG in these clips, but it’s still hard to go past the headline figures of 265kW and 450Nm. All that grunt comes from an otherwise modest 2.0 litre four pot remember!
In actual fact, looking at the pics above the engine appears rather bland. But as you’ll hear at the end of the first clip, when a CLA 45 AMG drives off, the engine’s bark certainly matches its bite!
The second clip takes a closer look at the A45 AMG Edition 1. And the third video was filmed from where many of us would like to be, behind the wheel!
[Thanks to John for the tip]
We’re hearing reports there’s a couple of Mercedes-Benz A45 AMGs on Australian shores. Seems like they’ve been assigned to promotional duties, but customer deliveries should start in September/October.
So we figured it’d be worth building the anticipation with this track test from South African mag Car. Okay, they are testing the Edition 1 version which won’t be coming to Australia, but who needs a daft wing and some dodgy racing stripes anyway.
If nothing else it’s interesting to compare the lap time of the A45 against the other times shown during the clip. Plus the driver and former racer Deon Joubert offers some decent feedback on the car as well.
Here it is, the one we’ve all been waiting for. The Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG and the BMW M135i in the hands of Chris Harris. There’s no need for an intro, just strap yourself in for the next 20 minutes and enjoy the ride.
If you would like a few more words, head on over to PistonHeads.
This is what we want to read; a comparison between the three hottest hatches currently on offer from the triumvirate of German masters. Thankfully, George Kacher has put his keyboard to work on behalf of Automobile magazine:
George Kacher on the S3: The Audi goes around bends like a slot-car racer with a second pin between the rear wheels. Neutrality is the name of its game. So is it boring? Wrong term. The S3 rewards its driver with a different potpourri of talents. The roadholding is so tenacious that the Continental Sportcontact tires (225/40 R18 all round) might have harbored hidden Velcro strap fragments. The steering, overly light and a little mute, nonetheless turns honing the line into a surprisingly entertaining pastime.
George Kacher on the M135i: There is more roll and pitch and dive than we expected from a 1-series model wearing the M badge. On the other hand, grip is astounding in the dry, traction is only an issue when you ask for it by switching off ESP, and the stability through very quick uneven corners is supported by the nicely compliant spring and damper setting. So, full marks for ride quality, panache and refinement, but only 3.5 stars out of five for absolute sportiness and driver involvement.
George Kacher on the A45 AMG: The engine delivers notable extra urge with real authority, the steering fuses input and feedback to a wonderfully three-dimensional level of control, four-wheel drive distributes torque with the eerie professionalism of a poker ace dealing his rounds, and the brakes bite with vigor and determination until, at the foot of the pass, smoke signals beg for mercy. The A45 AMG is as chuckable as it is sure-footed. It can corner on three wheels, decelerate at a ridiculous yaw angle, put the power down even earlier than the Audi. What it cannot do is ride well, period. Not even on smooth blacktop.
Based on what we’ve been reading, the S3 will only find buyers in Australia due to being cheaper than the other two (and only marginally), the A45 AMG will be the one everybody wants and some of the gloss of the M135i seems to have faded in the presence of serious competition.
Although, it is worth remembering the margins being discussed in reviews such as this are often so minor as to conclude that all three cars will reward their owners well beyond the initial novelty period. It’s just that they’ll do it slightly differently. We think it’s fantastic to see so much choice in the premium hot hatch segment. A shame it’s taken so long.
Follow the source link below to read the full review.
[Source: Automobile | Thanks to Richard for the tip]
In this video from Auto Express he who shall not be named compares the Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG against the A45 AMG. A slightly surprising choice of comparison when YouTube readers demand as many A45 v M135i comparisons as they can get their keyboards on.
Less surprising, of course, is the reviewer’s conclusion. Who would have thought that picking a winner between two cars from the same maker, with the same drivetrain and largely the same interior would come down to a toss of the coin. You could have knocked me down with a feather!