Mercedes-Benz has created a rare ‘racing concept’ in the form of a CLA 45 AMG that’ll be unveiled shortly at the Frankfurt International Motor Show, which is aimed at testing the waters for future production. Mercedes-Benz currently offers the SLS AMG GT3 as a racing customer car, but the CLA 45 AMG would be significantly cheaper to buy, repair, run and maintain.
The Stuttgart-based manufacturer has a proud heritage in saloon and GT racing and, while little detail has been revealed about the pricing or performance figures of the CLA 45 AMG racing concept, the road car has 265 kW and 450 Nm of torque to start with from its 4-cylinder turbo engine. Not a bad place to start, we’re sure you’ll agree.
The lower-slung CLA shape will be infinitesimally better for track racing than the taller centre of gravity the hatchback A45 AMG can offer. Every tenth of second and mm counts out on track and it could prove to be a good starting point for various race classes around the world.
Looking at the well-crafted carbon fibre-panels and roll cage-equipped interior, one has to believe Mercedes-Benz are pretty close to production with this racing concept. It’s only a matter of time before Mercedes gets to gauge the audience response to their pint-sized racer.
Expect the light-weight racer to trump the road car’s 0 – 100 km/h sprint of 4.6 seconds and use the same AMG 7-speed dual clutch ‘Speedshift’ transmission, which Mercedes-Benz say can be adapted to various engine specifications together with both front- or all-wheel drive.
