Mercedes-AMG has pulled the covers off its new CLA 45 4MATIC+ at the Goodwood Festival of Speed – and speed is one of the big stories behind this small, all-electric saloon that’s been thoroughly reengineered by Mercedes’ sporting AMG division.
This is Mercedes-AMG’s new compact electric performance car, and it arrives with the kind of numbers that would have sounded faintly daft not very long ago. There are three electric motors, fully variable four-wheel drive and up to 671bhp. That’s enough for 0-62mph in 2.7 seconds with a one-foot rollout – a drag-racing measurement which means the car starts moving, travels the first foot, then the clock starts. It does a pretty stunning 0-62mph in three seconds using the more familiar measurement from a standing start. Either way, it puts this compact AMG deep into supercar territory.
