Next-Gen Mercedes-Benz A-class Images Are Real

May 12, 2011 at 12:08pm by Justin Berkowitz

We can now confirm that the images of the next-gen Mercedes-Benz A-class that began a journey around the web yesterday afternoon are, in fact, legit. The pictures were first posted by Autoscoops.be (click over there for the full set) and allegedly are from a European patent filing. Although our staff of monkeys turned up no such documents in the EU patent database, we did have the opportunity to consult with our network of informants in Stuttgart, and we are told with certainty that the images accurately show the upcoming five-door A-class.

The five-door is one of the four body styles we expect to be spun off of Benz’s new front-wheel-drive A-class platform; the others are a three-door hatch like the heavily stylized A-class concept from last month’s New York auto show, a small crossover, and a four-door best described as a mini CLS. One of these body styles will be used for an AMG version, which should pack at least 300 hp. And all four should arrive in the U.S., meaning Americans will not only be able to buy a front-wheel drive Mercedes-Benz, but should have plenty of choice in the matter, too.

Tags: Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz A-class |

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Mercedes-Benz Definitely Planning A-class AMG, 300-Plus-HP Turbo Four Possible

April 26, 2011 at 11:33am by Justin Berkowitz

It’s not just twin-turbocharged V-12s that demonstrate the hunger for power that gnaws at AMG engineers—it’s also the way Mercedes-Benz’s performance sub-brand massages virtually everything the company makes. Even the Geländewagen and its humble, militarized 1970s-era architecture is turned into the G55 AMG. With Benz’s A-class concept presaging a production model, we’ve received confirmation from Mercedes insiders that it, too, will be treated to a trip to the AMG spa.
The upcoming third-gen A-class—which we recently reported will be sold in the U.S. in sedan, crossover, and three- and five-door hatch forms—will be the first ever A to get the treatment. (Word is that executives didn’t think the wobbly econobox deserved an AMG badge in the past.) We expect the engine will be a highly tuned four cylinder. It’ll likely spring from the same family of four-bangers as the 2.0-liter found in the concept’s engine bay, and should make substantially over 300 hp with the aid of forced induction.
Although the new A-class will, like the first two generations, utilize front-wheel drive, Merc’s engineers have told us that the platform is being prepared for all-wheel drive; we expect that layout to be exploited in most performance models to banish any worries about torque steer. Given the sad reality that AMG has never built a volume production model with a manual gearbox, you can bank mortgage money on the A-class AMG having a strictly two-pedal setup. That said, we’d be surprised if it weren’t a dual-clutch automatic.
Answering the two most prominent questions that surround the new A-class—”When?” and “How much?”—is even more of a fool’s errand with respect to the AMG version. The simple answer is that we anticipate the AMG A-class to come at least a year after the regular A does, and that it will cost significantly more. Think about the premium commanded by the BMW 1-series M and you’ll probably be on the right track. You didn’t think a new Mercedes-Benz would be cheap, did you?
Tags: AMG, Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz A-class, Mercedes-Benz A-class AMG |
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