If the harsh, loud and unforgiving CLA 45 AMG Shooting Brake doesn’t take your fancy then feast your eyes on the sub-AMG models. You’ll see the CLA Shooting Brake is still damn cool!
Tag: CLA
Word is Mercedes-Benz will release a CLA Shooting Brake in 2015. This makes us very happy. As you can see from these very good renderings the CLA is perfect for conversion from sedan to estate form. And if you chucked the CLA 45 AMG drivetrain into this sexy wagon we’d be over the moon.
[Source: Auto News | Pics: Theophilus Chin]
If you thought the Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG was pretty cool, you’re going to love this Racing Series concept. At this stage it’s little more than a litmus test to see how interested the customer racing market responds to the car.
Technical specs for the CLA 45 AMG Racing Series are being kept deliberately flexible for now, but it starts with the same 265kW/450Nm 2.0 litre turbocharged four cylinder engine from the road car, along with the 7-speed DCT gearbox.
It can be prepared with all-wheel drive or brought back to front-wheel drive if category restrictions applied. As an example, the car could race in the VLN series around the Nürburgring.
The body panels of the Racing Series are made from CFRP and the wider track results in aggressively flared wheel arches along with the handling benefits that come with such geometry changes. The interior of the car is fully race prepped, including racing buckets seats and a roll cage.
AMG brand ambassador Bernd Schneider was involved in the development of the concept and we hope to see this model flying around the world’s racetracks very soon. If nothing else, we’d expect Mercedes to enter a couple in next year’s Nürburgring 24 hour race.
Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific has today announced pricing and basic specs for its CLA range, the saloon version of the A Class. We’ll be seeing three models in Australia and here is the manufacturer’s list pricing:
- CLA 200 – $49,900
- CLA 250 Sport – $63,400
- CLA 45 AMG – $86,900
In the case of the CLA 45 AMG, the model of most interest to AUSmotive readers, that represents a $12,000 premium over its hot hatch sibling. While CLA 250 Sport and CLA 200 buyers are asked to fork out an extra $13,500 and $9,000 respectively compared with corresponding models from the the A Class range.
The CLA 200 is powered by a 115kW/250Nm 1.6 litre turbo four-cylinder, the CLA 250 Sport has a 155kW/350Nm 2.0 litre turbo four. When AMG gets their skilled engine-makers on the case they produce 265kW/450Nm from the 2.0 litre turbo found within the CLA 45 AMG.
The CLA 200 comes with the following standard equipment:
- 18†Wheels
- Thermotronic climate control
- Becker® MAP PILOT Navigation
- Reversing camera
- Collision Prevention Assist
- Blind Spot Assist
- Pre-Safe
- Attention Assist
- Active Bonnet
In addition, the CLA 250 Sport features:
- Heated electric leather sports seats with memory function and AMG styling
While the CLA 45 AMG also includes:
- AMG Driver’s Package
- AMG Night Package
- AMG Performance Steering Wheel
- Comand Navigation
- Harmon Kardon Logic 7 surround sound system
- Distronic Plus (Adaptive cruise control)
- Lane Keeping Assist
We ask, is the addition of a boot and a supposed boost in style really worth the price premium Mercedes-Benz demands?
You can have your fancy pants limited-edition Lambo, or your stonking new LaFerrari, even the McLaren P1; we’re not really interested. The car of Geneva, for us, is the Porsche 911 GT3. That’s the one we’d like to take home and get intimate with. And so begins the second and final part of our Geneva Motor Show image gallery. There’s over 120 new images to see and enjoy.
Generation Y, this is your Mercedes-Benz. That’s the claim made on behalf of the new CLA Class by the boss of the three-pointed star Dr Dieter Zetsche. It’s based on the Concept Style Coupé first shown in Beijing last April. You can also think of it as an A Class sedan; dare we be so boring to label it as such!
Wherever, or however, you choose to pigeon hole this car, we reckon it looks pretty damn good. If nothing else it’s refreshing to see a compact three-box four door car from one of Germany’s big guns that has tried to do something adventurous, anything, regarding the styling.
Mercedes is to be applauded for embracing the clean slate offered by the introduction of the CLA and thanked for presenting us with a charming option that should provide a plenty of spice in the entry-level prestige segment.
Dig a bit deeper than the impressive styling and there’s the security of a new optional 4matic all-wheel drive system and the promise of greater things to come when AMG finishing messing about with the CLA 45, expected in September. There’s a heap of fancy tech that has trickled down from its more expensive big brothers as well.
Until the cooking AMG model arrives Mercedes has given us engines ranging from 90–155kW to play with. Of course, petrol and diesel options fall within the range, sourced from the A Class lineup.
If you have a pulse, we suspect you’ll be ready to sink your teeth into the full detail from Mercedes after the break. Before you do we’ll leave you with the words of Sales and Marketing man Dr Joachim Schmidt: “We aim to reach new target groups with the CLA—including those who never intended driving a Mercedes.â€
Well, Dr Schmidt, you’ll be pleased to know, we think you’re about to kick a few goals at your next board meeting.