Mercedes-AMG A45 S Could Be A 416hp Giant-killer

Mercedes-AMG A45 S Could Be A 416hp Giant-killer

Mercedes-AMG promised us a hotter version of the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class, and now we have a good idea just how much hotter it鈥檒l be. To say we鈥檙e excited at the prospect is an understatement, frankly, particularly with the idea that the AMG A45 S could well pack a heady 416 horsepower. The all-new A-Class marked Mercedes鈥?renewal of one of its most popular entry-level cars. The gateway to the automaker鈥檚 range, it has progressed since the original A-Class launch in 1997 from a somewhat stodgy hatchback to a mini luxury model in its own right. With the 2019 A-Class, meanwhile, that鈥檚 all finally coming to the US. Back when we drove the 2019 A-Class Sedan in A220 form in November, we found it to be a veritable 鈥渕ini S-Class鈥?with its brand new MBUX infotainment system and rewarding chassis. Indeed, all we really lusted after was more power. That, it turns out, we鈥檙e going to get - and in spades. Mercedes-AMG had already teased us with the new A45 doing its best to drift around a race track in prototype form, releasing a video over the holidays that showed the A-Class hatchback getting itself into the festive spirit sideways. It didn鈥檛, however, spill how many horses were involved in pulling this particular German sleigh. Thankfully German insurer HUK24 has stepped in with those details, it seems.

There鈥檚 a reason both models have lasted this long and, more importantly, continue to thrive, even with the surging popularity of crossovers and SUVs. You can鈥檛 sleep on that kind of cache, even if you鈥檙e Mercedes. New is always better, though by much is up for debate. So while the Mercedes C-Class has all the elements you鈥檇 want in a compact luxury sedan, the all-new BMW 3 Series is a bit more appealing because of all the new things it has to offer. You can鈥檛 go wrong with either of these two models, but if you want something that not a lot of people have yet, the all-new 3 Series should be your first choice. As far as pricing goes, all we know about the all-new BMW 3 Series is that it goes on sale in March 2019 with a starting price of 拢33,610. 44,000. Remember, though, that this is the sedan鈥檚 price in the U.K. Just because the conversion skews higher than you鈥檇 expect, it doesn鈥檛 mean that the 3 Series will cost as much in the U.S. 40,000 in the U.S.

The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge cars as they come out of Turn 10 and set up along the short chute to enter Turn 11 on to the front straight at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge is always a highly competitive race. The event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca was not decided until the finals turns of the final lap. With 10-minutes of the two-hour race to go the top four Grand Sport (GS) cars were running within two seconds of each other. The leading No. 28 RS1 Porsche Cayman GT4 MR was being driven by Dillon Machavern and had lead the field for most of the final hour. He was followed closely by the No. 57 Winward Racing / HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 driven by Christian Hohenadel. The No. 57 Winward Racing / HTP Mercedes-AMG GT4 had second place secured until it also ran out of fuel on the final lap. In third place was the No. 46 Team TGM Mercedes-AMG GT4 driven by Hugh Plumb and in fourth was the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 driven by Scott Maxwell.

On the final lap, both the first and second place cars began to fail due to fuel starvation. As the No. 28 Porsche Cayman and the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG slowed they were quickly passed by the No. 46 Mercedes-AMG GT4 and the No. 15 Mustang GT4 with only two turns to go to the checkered flag. Being on a later pit strategy and in fuel conservation mode they both had enough fuel to make it to the end. The Race Winning No. 46 Team TGM Mercedes-AMG GT4 driven by Hugh Plumb seen here last the top of the Cork-Screw at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The second place No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 driven by Scott Maxwell seen here exiting Turn 11 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The Touring Car (TCR) class was an exclusive Audi RS3 LMS TCR event. The top three finishers were the No. 77 Compass Racing Audi co-driven by Britt Casey Jr. and Tom Long. Followed in second place by the No. 54 JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi driven by Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson. Turn 11 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The Street Turner (ST) class was headed by the No.81 BimmerWorld BMW 328i co-driven by Nick Galante and Devin jones. Second place went to the No. 73 MINI JWC Team Mini JCW co-driven by Mike LaMarrta and Max Pombo with third place going to the No. 21 Bodymotion Racing Porsche Cayman driven by Max Faulkner and Jason Rabe. Continental Tire will exit IMSA competition at the end of 2018, including title sponsorship of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, with IMSA electing not to extend its long-standing partnership, the tire manufacturer.