Mercedes-AMG's new CLA45 is a subcompact sedan (and wagon!) with a 0-60mph time well under three seconds. Lessons learned from the new electric Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door are already paying dividends further down the AMG lineup. Much, much further down, as it turns out. A new AMG variant of the CLA-Class subcompact EV was revealed on Thursday, and the figures are astonishing.
Confusingly wearing the same Mercedes-AMG CLA45 4Matic+ branding as the last internal combustion CLA, the smallest electric AMG packs three of the axial flux motors that first debuted on the GT EV. They combine for a peak system output of 680 horsepower, a jump of more than 250 horsepower over the already-riotous four-cylinder CLA45s of the past. Even with the added mass of a 94-kWh battery pack bringing the curb weight of the EV over 5,000 pounds, the ultra-hot CLA is still quick enough to sprint from 0 to 60mph in just 2.7 seconds.
View Price on AmazonAn adaptively-damped suspension comes with three different settings tied to driving modes, including a ridiculously-named "AMGFORCE S+" mode that Mercedes-AMG says simulates an "authentic, AMG typical combustion engine experience." As you might guess from similar technologies deployed in other high-performance EVs lately, this means synthetic engine sounds—the four-cylinder noises from the last-generation CLA AMG, in this case—and simulated gear shifts.
As this is still a variant of the latest CLA EV, range and charging speed remain strengths. The company quotes 416 miles of range on the generous WLTP cycle, a number that should come down closer to 300 in the EPA's harsher measurements. With a charger capable of reaching the 330-kilowatt peak charging rate, the battery fills from 10 to 80 percent in just 22 minutes. Mercedes-AMG says that 10 minutes of charge provides 168 miles of range, although that number is likely measured on the same WLTP cycle as the car's total claimed distance.
European buyers can get the CLA45 in either sedan or station wagon (called "shooting brake," in this case) form. Unfortunately for Americans hoping to get a massively powerful little EV, the new CLA45 has not been confirmed Stateside yet in either form body style. Given that the basic sedan is currently sold here, and the last internal combustion AMG CLA45 S reached the States, we hope that it will be confirmed soon enough.
Source: roadandtrack.com
