www.bahrainthismonth.com January 2014 87 To put it into perspective, the 4.6-litre V8 in the last generation of the Ford Mustang GT produced 315hp and 441Nm of torque! However, it’s not the power that is the best thing about the A 45. Being a small, lightweight hatchback and all-wheel-drive, the handling is almost supernatural. With the bigger, heavier AMG models the handling is superb, but you do have to exercise a certain measure of caution in order not to end up facing the wrong way. With the A 45 AMG you can throw it around with the wanton abandon of a 17 year-old boy racer, and it’ll take it all and ask for more. The turn-in is amazingly responsive, even at hairy speeds, and if you’re going a bit too fast, the all-wheel-drive will reign in your stupidity without fuss. Once you hit the apex you can plant the gas pedal and power out of the corner with a guaranteed smile on your face. And the stopping power is enough to make your eyes bulge out of your sockets. I hesitate to say user-friendly, but the A 45 AMG would be an amazingly rewarding car even for someone with a minor amount of skill. An absolute hoot! We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again — this is probably the hottest hatch ever made. The star From one end of the spectrum right to the other, the absolute star of the show would, of course, be the SLS AMG GT. Aside from looking utterly beautiful, this is a car you could never spend enough time in. It was actually slightly heart-rending to climb out of it after each driving exercise. That delicious rumble of the 6.2-litre V8 will have you blipping the throttle just for the hell of it. Over and over again! The GT is a more powerful strain of the standard SLS AMG, with power boosted to 591hp and 650Nm of torque. And being naturally-aspirated, all of that power is delivered instantly for jaw-dropping rates of acceleration. The 100km/h mark is topped in just 3.7 seconds, and you will have a lot of fun finding that out for yourself. And although it feels like a big car with that long, sweeping bonnet, it is still superbly agile. Though we were told in no uncertain terms that switching off the electronic stability control would result in our ejection from the event, even with it on there are massive thrills to be had. With a slight amount of oversteer and a rearward power bias from the all-wheel-drive system, there’s still scope for a little sideways action if you’re so inclined! And inclined we were… Mentions… An honourable mention goes to the SL 63 AMG. While the SL is much more of a GT than a track performance machine, on the circuit it honestly felt comparable to the SLS AMG in terms of speed. This is thanks to the monstrously powerful 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 putting out 537hp and 800Nm of torque. And a dishonourable mention goes to the E 63 AMG, though we write this with a heavy heart, because it is by no means a bad car. If you want a large, comfortable and powerful family sedan which will eat miles and miles of highway in absolute splendour and comfort, then the E 63 AMG will tick every box you can think of. However, on an F1 circuit, lined up alongside such illustrious company, the E 63 was completely overshadowed. After hours of hard driving a strange vibration began to permeate the cabin at high speeds, and the car began to feel decidedly wobbly under braking. On corners you could feel the all-wheel-drive system reaching to its very depths to keep this big sedan in shape, and there simply wasn’t the nimble precision and driving pleasure you felt with cars like the C 63 and even the SL 63. One couldn’t help but walk away with the impression that this simply wasn’t what this car was built for. Overall though, as first experiences of AMG performance go, it simply doesn’t get any better than the AMG Performance Tour. We are officially indoctrinated! To experience the AMG range for yourself, visit the Al Haddad Motors showroom, the official distributor for Mercedes-Benz in the Kingdom. The A 45 AMG – the hottest hatch ever made? On the Yas Marina Drag Strip
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