Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 spied!

The arrival of an A45 Saloon could allow this swept back four-door to grow into its more premium skin

Mercedes has long argued that the A-Class Saloon and CLA, its two four-doors with coupe-esque rooflines, both appeal to different buyers, despite their obvious likeness. And the case of reasoning for the A-Class Saloon 45 and CLA 45 is, apparently, the same. The CLA is ever so slightly larger, for starters, plus its design and image are higher than that of Mercedes’s entry A cars. And now, it will also have enough punch to threaten cars of even higher status thanks to some of Affalterbach’s finest fettling.

AMG’s engineers have officially squeezed more than 400hp from the upcoming 45 line-up’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder – a leak suggested the exact number is 421hp – which is absolutely bonkers. That’d give it 210.5hp per litre, meaning the German petrol motor will be of even higher string than the McLaren Senna’s V8, cubic centimetre for cubic centimetre. In the 45 models, the CLA version of which will be priciest, that could enable a sub four second 0-62mph time – and should make for some pretty explosive rolling acceleration, something the old ‘ballistic’ 45s became famous for.

The 2019 CLA 45 finds itself in an even more unique position as the arrival of the A45 Saloon is expected to push it further up the price ladder. With an anticipated £50k plus starting price, it’s far too expensive to concern the Audi RS3 Saloon and future four-pot BMW M235i, with which the A45 Saloon will fight. It instead will offer the same performance from AMG’s torque-vectoring-capable all-wheel drive powerplant, but in a package for the segment above. The spied test car shows how its design, for example, is sharper than the saloon and appears more inspired by CLS 53 that sits above it.

Expect the trend to continue inside, where a CLA 45 will likely add more chintz and extra standard kit to AMG’s four-door cabin, which includes its dual screen digital displays. The CLA’s slightly longer body will also lend better rear headroom and more boot space, plus it might shift the weight distribution rearwards slightly to encourage the use of unique rear damper parameters. But, by and large, it’s a case of business as usual for the CLA 45. It’s a posher, slightly bigger A45, just now the gap should be even greater because there’s the A45 Saloon to do the job in the middle.

While at glance offering cars of such incremental improvements at this end of the market might seem odd, the sales of the regular A models speak for themselves – there’s no shortage of global demand. And perhaps a plusher CLA 45 could find better form than its predecessor with the arrival of the A45 Saloon, as it no longer has to remain only slightly pricier than the hot hatch. Where we used to label the CLA 45 as an expensive, only a bit more practical alternative to the A45 that was bought almost entirely for design, now it could finally grow into its pricier skin and stand apart from its 45 siblings. We’ll find out later this year.

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