The A 45 has never been available in America. However, we have a pretty good idea of what it is and what it can do thanks to its sister models, the GLA 45 and the CLA 45. A new model is out in Europe, and the rumor is that it's amazing in a drag race. But there's no way it can take on a BMW M8... right?
Well, if you just look at the specs, the gap looks huge. The A 45 S may have the most powerful engine of its kind in the world, but that's only a 2-liter turbo. The M138 is rated in this case at 416 horsepower and 369 pound-feet (500 Newton-meters) of torque. That's not bad at all for a car the size of a lawnmower.
However, there's actually no way it can take on the new BMW M8 Competition. It's the current king of drag-racing BMWs, thanks not only to the 4.4-liter V8, but also the way the launch control is set up. While we're on the subject of specs, this coupe raises the bar to 617 hp and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) of torque. For the record, it's also over 1,000 lbs heavier, though this isn't the deciding factor.
To give the baby AMG hot hatch a fighting chance, a handicap is decided. Carwow decides to race the M8 Competition with one hand tied behind its back by putting it in RWD mode. BMW designed this setup for people to use when they want to spin up their tires and do donuts/drifting. So it might be way worse than the RWD in the old M6 from a few years back.
In the drag race, the A 45 S demolishes its much more powerful and expensive rival. This just goes to prove that without AWD launches, German cars aren't that fast. Also, there's a rolling race and a brake test in there, if you're into that kind of thing.
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. Full profile
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