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2019 Mercedes-AMG A35 Shows New Details in Latest Spy Video

The burble of this A-Class prototype's exhaust plus a few other details give it away as the Mercedes-AMG A35 (or A30, or A32). It's an exciting product, the cheapest car yet to wear the AMG badge that also promises to bring something different to the hot hatch segment.
2019 Mercedes-AMG A35 Shows New Details in Latest Spy Video 5 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
2019 Mercedes-AMG A35 Shows New Details in Latest Spy Video2019 Mercedes-AMG A35 Shows New Details in Latest Spy Video2019 Mercedes-AMG A35 Shows New Details in Latest Spy Video2019 Mercedes-AMG A35 Shows New Details in Latest Spy Video
It's evident that with the A35, Mercedes is trying to rival popular cars like the Golf R, Audi S3 and to a lesser degree the Focus RS. The combination of a 2.0-liter turbo engine and all-wheel-drive should give the German hatchback a decent pace.

While the car was previously known as the A40, AMG boss Tobias Moers recently changed it to A35, slightly lowering our expectations. He also said that the rivals were taken into careful consideration, but AMG will try to set its own benchmark.

We've interpreted that as meaning the A35 will be the first car in this segment to have a mild hybrid configuration. The M 264 engine isn't much different from a regular 2.0-liter turbo. It just has an EQ Boost system (48V) providing an additional 10 kW.

The powertrain has already been mounted transversally in the E350 Coupe and Cabriolet, where it delivers 299 HP, burning less gas and producing fewer emissions than a far less competent E 200.

Imagine if the A35 is just as fast as the Golf R, but more economical. That would sell well, right?

It will be interesting to see if they are going to offer a manual transmission since quite a few people still want that. On the other hand, rowing your own gears is not something Mercedes usually encourages its customers to do.

Slow? That depends on your perspective. We expect an official 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time of around 4.7 to 5.0 seconds. As a reference, the old-timer SLK 32 AMG did it in 5.2 seconds while the current SLC 43 manages 4.7 seconds.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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