Because it’s a slow news day we are desperate for any snippet of information we can find. Then our prayers were answered, we got a mysterious telephone call from a location in Germany. Turns out a disgruntled employee, somewhere in Germany wanted to vex his frustrations at having to engineer the new 2nd gen Mercedes CLA45 AMG. The problem is, said our source, that the CLA isn’t the sort of car Mercedes should be selling let alone shoving 400bhp into the engine bay.

Our source also said that 400bhp is not considered particularly powerful these days. However, the CLA45 AMG is designed to outcompete other compact performance hatches from BMW and Audi. Despite having a premium badge, insiders at Mercedes consider the CLA to be beneath the premium offerings that Mercedes sells. “we’re selling into a market that isn’t particularly profitable and we’re engineering a poorly executed performance car that will be bought by coffee machine sales executives”. Our source confirmed. However, the current generation does sell. It became the best selling Mercedes on release when it launched in 2013 notching up 100k sales during its first year. The second generation is planned for a 2020 release and as the first gen before it will be based on the A Class hatch. Therefore expect the 2nd gen CLA to carry over much of the same engine spec and technology as the current A Class. Of course, every Mercedes now has a performance AMG variant. Our inside source said that the thought of a CLA45 AMG is depressing as it is “diluting” the purity and ethics of the AMG Brand. “AMG should be aspirational, another level, now it has become a commodity like a loaf of bread.” said our insider. “We didn’t like the CLA45 AMG, 360bhp through a small chassis that has the stiffness of a marshmallow. Performance cars should be properly engineered, the current solution is a poster nailed into a wall.” Source:  

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