It's hard to believe that up until only a couple of years ago, there was no hot hatch from Mercedes-Benz or super-powered 2-liter turbo engine. And yet here we are, idolizing the beauty of this A45 AMG, nicknamed "Black Magic".
It's one of the freshly completed projects of Vossen South Africa and has been fitted with a set of VFS2's measure 20" in diameter. Mercedes seriously needs to bring the A-Class to America, because nobody makes sexy hatchbacks like this one. Sell them for $30,000 – we don't care as long as they look this good.
Mind you, the A45 AMG is not an ordinary hot hatch. This twin brother of the CLA 45 sedan packs a 360 PS turbocharged engine connected to a 7-speed twin-clutch and the first Mercedes all-wheel drive system for small cars.
You could probably get an Audi S5 or some kind of BMW 4 Series coupe for the same kind of money. They probably ride a little better too, but the sense of occasion provided by this pocket-sized AMG is special. People who like the compact size of hatchbacks can appreciate what Mercedes have done in terms of design.
The interior is the unique bit though. Sure, there are some bad plastics here and there, but the seats are cooler than in any hatch, and there's so much aluminum surfacing that you think that you've walked into a kitchen. And even though it's small, the A45 is not impractical. With the rear seats folded flat, you get 1,157 liters of cargo space. Beat that in your Porsche Cayman, sir!
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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