It won't come as a surprise that, following on from the unveiling of the new Mercedes-AMG A 45 and CLA 45, the CLA Shooting Brake will get the same treatment. Here then is our first look at the 2020 Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 4Matic+ Shooting Brake (to give it its rather full name...).
Big turbo bang
By way of reminder, the AMG '45' formula includes the firm's new 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, turbocharged of course, producing up to 421hp and 500Nm of torque. That's for the top-of-the-rung CLA 45 S variant, while the 'entry-level' model makes do with 387hp and 480Nm. Not that it makes a huge difference to the performance on paper, as the S does 0-100km/h a tenth of a second quicker at four seconds dead and, though the S's speed limiter is set at 270km/h by default, buyers of the standard CLA 45 Shooting Brake can raise their limiter to the same (irrelevant in this part of the world) speed if they opt for the AMG Driver's package.
There's an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox as standard, with a 'Race Start' launch control system and something the company calls AMG Performance 4Matic+ with AMG Torque Control. That translates as fully variable four-wheel drive that can alter the drive split front-to-rear as needs be, and there's also an electronically controlled rear differential that can alter the split side-to-side, resulting in what is promised to be a highly agile feeling car. The way all this operates depends on the driving mode selected. Along with Basic and Advanced options for the AMG Dynamics, there are the rather senior sounding Pro and Master modes, and a full-on Drift Mode for tyre-shredding on-track shenanigans (standard on the CLA 45 S, optional on the entry car).
AMG chassis to match
Like its '45' siblings, the CLA Shooting brake gets a full chassis makeover to cope with the performance and demands its buyers are likely to put on it. The suspension is different to that of the non-AMG CLA Shooting Brake and there's variable ratio power steering with two different calibrations. Massive brakes are also included (bigger on the S model, of course), while three-stage adaptive damping, called AMG Ride Control, is optional.
The AMG Dynamic Select system allows the driver choose from Slippery, Comfort, Sport, Sport +, Individual and, on the CLA 45 S, Race modes, altering a wide variety of functions, including throttle response, gearchange timing and speed, the exhaust sound, the AMG Dynamics feature mentioned above and, if fitted, the AMG Ride Control damping.
MBUX FTW
We've waxed lyrical about the MBUX Widescreen Cockpit dashboard before and it's at its best in an AMG model like this CLA Shooting Brake with bespoke display screens and design themes. It can be controlled via the usual thumbpads on the steering wheel, too, though there's nothing 'usual' about the gorgeous wheel, which is suitably chunky and allows direct access to the AMG driving modes and more (well, it does as standard on the S, optionally on the regular model).
There's contrast stitching on the wheel as well: red on the standard car, yellow on the CLA 45 S or just black if you'd rather a more subdued appearance. The same applies to the cabin in general, where the theme is red and black or yellow and black depending on variant, with a more restrained grey/black finish available. The sports seats are trimmed in a mix of Artico and Dinamica (man-made leather and microfibre, respectively).
Aggressive exterior
The AMG makeover extends to the exterior of the CLA Shooting Brake, where the vertically-slatted radiator grille and large air vents up front are complemented by wider and flared wheelarches. At the back, there are quad exhausts (bigger on the S) and a modified roof spoiler.