Mercedes Benz’s AMG celebrates 45 years of high performance and drops hints about the future

Its nearly four and a a half decades since Mercedes Benz began enthralling performance enthusiasts with a special breed of cars that the factory put out with the help of its brand new tuning division, AMG. 45 years and many memorable high performance models later, AMG has now lined up 8 more high performance cars, and many of them will be the brand’s entry level offerings, seeking to deliver much bigger volumes than ever before. The first model in the 8 new AMG cars lined up with the A-Class A45 AMG, which is a 300+ Bhp fire breathing sports hatchback.

Mercedes Benz AMG 45th Anniversary

Apart from the A-Class hatchback, AMG variants of the B-Class Sports Tourer and the upcoming GLA crossover are expected to be launched in the next few years. In the image that AMG has put out to commemorate its 45th anniversary, the 5 other new models are expected to be the S-Class AMG, another entry level coupe, the SLC AMG and larger SUVs. Already the largest in-house tuning house in the world run by an automaker, these launches will only bolster AMG’s dominant position in the world of manufacturer run tuning houses populated by the likes of BMW’s M-division and Audi’s RS division.

Currently, AMG has 22 cars in its model line up. With the launch of more high performance cars even in the entry level segment, AMG could capture a brand new market segment, of younger buyers, who can now afford high performance Mercedes Benz cars due to the lower price tags. This is one strategy Mercedes Benz has been following with the MFA platform, which has led to the development of a host of entry level models like the A-Class and the B-Class. This platform has been versatile enough to allow for both front wheel driven and all wheel drive models, which is expected to underpin the AMG variants.

For the entry level AMG models, the 2 Liter turbocharged, four cylinder petrol engine that also gets direct injection is expected to be the staple offering. This engine will produce over 300 Bhp while peak torque is even more impressive at over 400 Nm, although the exact specifications are still some time away from being announced officially. A 7 speed dual clutch automatic gearbox will be paired to this engine. Together, this engine and transmission package is expected to give all entry level AMG cars superb performance as well as good fuel economy. Expect these cars to eventually arrive in India as well given that Mercedes already sells a range of AMG massaged car models in the country.