What do you normally do to celebrate your birthday? Maybe a cake, drinks with friends or a nice dinner if you’re feeling fancy? Well, that’s not quite how Mercedes is marking the 55th anniversary of its AMG division. Instead, the firm is dishing out limited-edition performance cars like there’s no tomorrow!
First, there was a limited-edition variation of the G-Class, which packed in more AMG logos than you can shake a stick at. There were also 22-inch rims, chrome details throughout the car and a host of other styling tweaks. At the time, the three-pointed star hinted that more birthday surprises were still to come.
And now, we’ve found out what they’ve been cooking up to mark the occasion. It’s obviously a limited-run A Class adorned with enough AMG logos to sink a ship.
Based off the A35 Compact Saloon, Saloon and Shooting Brake models, the new Edition 55 cars see the same level of glitz and glam that Mercedes treated its G-Class to in a much more modest package.
Mercedes is showcasing the latest AMG styling updates on the A35 Shooting Brake that you see pictured here. Where the traditional A Class hatch starts at €28,000 (about $30,000), the Mercedes-AMG A35 Edition 55 starts at €41,000, which is about $44,000 and quite a lot of money.
And in your $40,000 hatchback, Mercedes has fitted a whole load of AMG niceties. First up, there’s an updated aero package that adds an enlarged front splitter, a fixed rear wing and a blade diffuser. The firm says these tweaks have all been made to “improve the driving characteristics at high speeds.”
Something called the AMG Night Package has also been added to turn most of the exterior details jet black. This includes a gloss black splitter, side sills, window line trim, exterior mirror housings and tailpipe trim, and the windows now come with dark tinted glass.
There are also some pretty nice 19-inch AMG multi-spoke alloy wheels, a chrome filler cap and a black and red interior that’s festooned with AMG logos and “Edition 55” badges. It’s all very nice and I’m sure lots of people will buy it.
But AMG is Mercedes’ tuning house, and for 55 years has been churning out crackpot cars that pack in way too much performance for normal people to be able to drive.
And one thing that is dearly missed from Mercedes latest car launch is any mention of performance updates to the newest car to come from AMG.
Think back to the 1988 300CE 6.0 AMG, the SL73 AMG of the 90s and the SL65 AMG Black Series from 2008. All bonkers looking Mercedes cars that packed the performance to match all the pretty aerodynamic flourishes AMG fitted to the outside.
So, while the A35 Edition 55 does look very, very cool, this limited-edition, anniversary-celebrating, all-conquering hot hatch from the best brains in Germany could certainly do with a little more.
If Mercedes has more AMG anniversary niceties planned, I hope they come with the bite to match the A35 Edition 55’s bark. Instead of just a few stickers and a shiny filler cap.
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