Thursday 21st November 2013

Mercedes GLA45 AMG Concept announced

Looks like the Macan Turbo has another rival already...

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Bereft of its blingy rims, 'sporty' wrap and the iffy graphics, this is the Mercedes GLA45 AMG we all knew was on its way. Oh sure, Mercedes has christened the car you see here the 'Concept GLA 45', but it's fooling nobody. See the not-so-drastic transition from Concept GLA to production GLA, and CSC Beijing to regular CLA.

Rollin' on 21s, as you do

As you would expect, the GLA45 AMG uses the same 360hp, 332lb ft 2.0-litre turbo as the A45 and CLA45. It is four-wheel drive too, of course, and Mercedes claims it will hit 62mph in less than five seconds. We would assume the SUV is as capable as the hatch of 155mph, although the claimed 40mpg of the A45 will probably drop a tad.

The 'powerful and muscular' presence of the AMG GLA Concept will largely be carried over to the production model. The more aggressive bumpers, side skirts and diffuser will surely make the transition, and the exhaust pipes look very similar to those on the A45. That wild spoiler and red-rimmed, erm, rims may be reserved for another Edition 1 AMG. We can but hope.

We don't want to say jacked-up A45 but...

Can the contemporary AMG magic be extended to another niche? AMG boss Tobias Moers is pitching the car at a 'strongly growing market segment of compact SUVs' and a target customer group focused on 'styling, dynamism and independence'. Given there's already an Audi RS Q3 and the Alpina XD3 on sale, plus the Macan Turbo on its way, the very fast compact SUV is a burgeoning sector. Expect a massively un-PC group test sometime in 2014...

Mercedes has unveiled the GLA45 AMG Concept at LA. Dan is already out there so we should have some more details imminently.

[Source: Autocar]

 

 

[Maldini35]

Typical of modern Mercedes - tacky and ostentatious.

[Maldini35]

Oh dear Mercedes. The continued debasement and decline of a once proud brand.
They'll be giving away cars as part of a tacky phone-in competition on X factor next... WHAT? They're already doing that?
Oh.

Edited by Maldini35 on Thursday 21st November 17:44