Autocar is reporting the birth of a new AMG division, called AMG Sport. Like the AMGs we all know and love, AMG Sport variants will be equipped with upgraded motors and improved styling components, but probably to a lesser degree than ‘big’ AMG.
We reported in April that Mercedes is prepping a C450 AMG Sport model for 2015, and it turns out the zippy C-Class will be the first production in the new class.
Bridging the gap between the C400 and upcoming C63 AMG, the C450 will have the same 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V6 from the C400, but it will produce 38 more horsepower (367 to the C400’s 329). The next-gen C63 AMG is still in the shadows, but when it appears, expect it to have more power than the last version’s 451 hp, possibly from a turbo V6.
This new division means models overall, and more direct counters to hot versions of BMW, Audi, and Jaguar sports cars.
Smell that? That’s the sweet, tire-burning smell of capitalism.
Mercedes is reportedly planning AMG Sport iterations of nearly every class under its banner, including the A, C, E, S, GL, M, GLK, and GLA lines. Per the trend, each car will go under the knife in the pursuit of sharper handling, meaner looks, and increased grunt.
AMG Sport will also be the German brand’s first major foray into diesel performance vehicles, which will could head-to-head with BMW’s Europe-only M550d and Audi’s RS5 TDI (if it ever gets built).
It’s hard to find many faults with more sporty Mercs on the road, but is an entirely separate division really necessary? This may be very un-German to say, but what’s wrong with simply expanding the AMG brand as is? Creating a separate division, especially when it’s essentially the same thing as its parent, can be confusing to buyers at times, but that might be being too picky.
The inaugural C450 AMG Sport is due out in 2015.
