Confirmed! The upcoming Mercedes A 45 AMG will have more than 400 hp

The head of Mercedes AMG, the performance car division of the German brand, Tobias Moers, has confirmed that the next generation of the Mercedes A 45 will produce more than 400 hp in an interview with the Australian publication Car Advice.

In recent years, Mercedes AMG and Audi Sport have been locked in a fierce dispute over who makes the most powerful compact performance car on the market, a title that currently belongs to Audi with its new RS3 Sportback (400 hp).

If you are a fan of the three-pointed star brand, you need not worry: the AMG boss has announced that the new A 45 will produce more than 400 hp and that its two-litre engine will be completely renewed. This is what he said in an interview with Car Advice:

The new 2.0-litre will be a completely new engine. Yes, an electric turbo is something we have a close connection with, but perhaps not in the first version. We have to deliver more than 300 kW (402 hp), we know that. You have to be at a certain level

The new A 45 is unlikely to arrive before 2019, but the AMG boss admitted that Mercedes’s high-performance division cannot give its competitors an advantage in this respect.

“We don’t want to give hints or extra time to our rivals, but what is clear is that the new benchmark is 400 hp, we have to be above that figure,” says the head of Mercedes AMG.

Beyond the top-of-the-range model (A 45 AMG), the next generation of the A-Class will receive a new exterior design style that will be inspired by the A concept recently presented at the Shanghai Motor Show. Some spy images have also revealed that the new A-Class will feature digital screens similar to those of the S-Class and E-Class.

Note: Images of the current Mercedes A 45 AMG