The A-Class’s sleeker cousin will adopt the same new 2.0-litre engines into its AMG line-up next year
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While around half of Britain’s workforce is already in the pub, it looks like the German engineers at Mercedes-AMG haven’t quite finished for Christmas yet; they’ve been snapped testing the upcoming CLA 35 and 45 in public. Using the same re-engineered turbocharged four-cylinders as the just-launched A35 and soon-to-arrive A45, the CLA 35 and CLA 45 will produce 306hp and an anticipated 400hp-plus respectively when they arrive in the first few months of 2019.
AMG is yet to comment on the output of its new A45 and CLA 45 models, but their shared 2.0-litre four-cylinder motors – a hand-built M133-based unit that’ll come with a different cylinder head and internals to the A35 – are due to surpass the previous highest specific output record for a production engine, which is held by the 800hp McLaren Senna. Even a conservative 400hp output would provide the AMG models with enough to match the Woking hypercar’s horsepower per litre. Mad.
Like its hatchback sibling, that should make the CLA 45 a car capable of sprinting to 62mph in no more than 4.0 seconds – and remember this is one of AMG’s entry-level models. As PH found out on a recent test drive, the lower-powered A35 hatch is no slouch either, reaching 62mph in just 4.7 seconds. We’d expect the CLA version to match that time thanks to its use of identical running gear, seven-speed twin clutch gearbox included.
While we’re some way off seeing them uncovered, we know from the A35 that the basic chassis layout will incorporate MacPherson strut suspension and aluminium wishbones up front, with a four-link axle at the rear. A45 versions may get slighter more aggressive parameters for their optional adjustable damping, to give them a performance edge through the bends.
And what of the design? Well, we can’t see anything unusual. AMG’s now familiar Panamerica front grille and quad tailpipes are incorporated into the sharper 2019 CLA bodyshape, as expected. So inside, we can confidently predict the dashboard’s wide screen infotainment system and transmission tunnel’s laptop-style touchpad will all be pinched from the hatch.
Business as usual, then. Well, it is in the world of ballistic four-pot AMGs, anyway.
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