The Mercedes-Benz AMG high-performance shop takes big sedan and SUV models from the German automaker, replaces the engines, transmissions and suspension components, and ends up with luxury muscle cars. AMG engineers hand-build the V-8 and V-12 engines, adding a signature plate onto each.
The division set an impressive standard with cars such as the CLS63 AMG and the G63 AMG, but can Mercedes-Benz extend AMG characteristics to its newer, smaller cars? I decided to seek the answer to that question when I got a chance to drive the 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG on the Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca.
The GLA45 AMG is based on the GLA250, a new compact SUV from Mercedes-Benz. Both models use a 2-liter four cylinder engine with a turbocharger and direct injection, so at first glance it may seem like Mercedes-Benz merely added an aero kit and suspension tweaks to create this new AMG. The specs, and the driving experience, tell a different story.
The AMG shop managed to turn the output up from 208 horsepower in the GLA250 to 355 in the GLA45 AMG, which also boasts 332 pound-feet of torque. With upgraded turbo, injection system, programming and exhaust, this small engine becomes so potent that Mercedes-Benz Chairman Tobias Moers called it "the world's most powerful series-production four-cylinder engine" when the car was unveiled in September, 2014.
I liked the look of the GLA250, but I liked the GLA45 AMG, coated in Jupiter Red and sitting in the Laguna Seca paddock, even more. The grille sported the AMG "twin-blade" horizontal bar supporting the Mercedes-Benz badge, red-painted brake calipers screamed performance and a wing over the hatch was sculpted with side vanes. On closer inspection, I noticed the flics, little aero elements, mounted low on the front fenders, channeling air out of the wheel wells, suggesting the aero engineering was more than cosmetic.
