The Mercedes-AMG A45 S should have muscle cars running scared

The all-new Mercedes-AMG A45 S deserves to be nicknamed the ‘ego killer’ for the way in which it will decimate cares with more power and significantly larger price tags in a drag race.

With an impressive claimed acceleration figure of under 4.0-seconds, the latest addition to the hyper hatch segment’s arrival on Australian shores has been hotly anticipated.

Using a VBOX GPS data recorder, the AMG A45 S underwent Wheels’ independent performance testing regime at Heathcote to see how accurate the 3.9 second 0-100km/h claim on the brochure really is.

Our first three launches in the A45 S returned a 4.1-. 4.0-, and 3.9-second run to 100km/h. From that point onwards it was bang on the claimed manufacturer figure until we decided we’d had enough fun.

Engage launch control, build the revs, and simply keep your right foot planted into the firewall while keeping the pocket rocket pointed toward the horizon. It’s that easy.

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Pumping 310kW and 500Nm from a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine to all four wheels was always going to produce an impressive acceleration figure, but the fact that the ‘baby’ AMG was able to rattle off repeatable sub-4.0 second passes all day long shouldn’t be taken for granted.

While some might see the $93,600 price tag as excessive for a hatch, it’s important to remember the performance it offers is unmatched by any muscle car currently on sale in Australia, and enough to threaten sports cars that cost twice as much.

The in-gear acceleration is mighty impressive as well, taking just 2.3 seconds to shift from 80km/h to 120km/h.

On the unprepared Heathcote drag strip, the A45 S was able to return a quarter-mile ET of 12.2 seconds at 185.2km/h.

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That’s two-tenths of a second quicker than 500kW supercharged V8-powered Ford Mustang R-Spec!

So rapid was the A45 S, that we were able to measure its time to the double-tonne, with 200km/h appearing on the speedo after 14.5 seconds of full-throttle acceleration.

It’s not just acceleration where the A45 S impresses, with the brakes able to haul the AMG to a standstill from 100km/h in the space of 35 metres.

A full rundown of our independent test data is below.

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2020 Mercedes-AMG A45 S performance figures

• 0-20km/h: 0.6sec
• 0-40km/h: 1.4sec
• 0-60km/h: 2.1sec
• 0-80km/h: 3.0sec
• 0-100km/h: 3.9sec
• 0-120km/h: 5.3sec
• 0-140km/h: 7.0sec
• 0-160km/h: 8.9sec
• 0-180km/h: 11.4sec
• 0-200km/h: 14.5sec
• 0-400m: 12.2sec @ 185.2km/h
• 80-120km/h: 2.3sec
• 100km/h-0: 35.0m
• Power-to-weight: 185kW per tonne
• Redline/cut-out: 7000/7000rpm
• Speed at indicated 100km/h: 97