The head of Mercedes-AMG insists the new A35 hot hatch will not dilute the brand, adding that in terms of driving dynamics “it’s on the same level as the current A45”.
Speaking to CarAdvice at the Paris Motor Show, Tobias Moers admitted the A35’s powerplant is a Mercedes-Benz engine fairly lightly tuned by the Affalterbach-based performance arm, rather than a full-bore AMG unit.
“The 35, to be honest, [uses] a shared engine with Mercedes. This is the base power output of what we can get out of the Mercedes engine, but everything was done in house with it regarding calibration and the layout of the turbocharger, the dimension of the turbocharger and things like that,” he told the Australian publication.
“The 45 engine is going to be a totally new, re-engineered engine at AMG. You can expect at least 400 horses [more than 300 kW].”
Moers insisted the A35 would not dilute the AMG brand.
“The A35 family is not diluting the brand. We have shared components with the next 45. And driving-dynamics-wise, it’s on the same level as the current A45, but with less horsepower.
“But it’s a different segment and we’re going to be really competitive with pricing,” he added.
As a reminder, the Mercedes-AMG A35 4Matic is powered by a turbocharged 2,0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (based on the M260 unit) churning out 225 kW and 400 N.m. It employs a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with launch control and shift paddles. The result is a sprint from zero to 100 km/h in a claimed 4,7 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h.
