Mercedes-AMG A 45 S final edition: the end of the world's most powerful four-cylinder

KUALA LUMPUR: Mercedes-AMG has announced a "Final Edition" of the A 45 S 4MATIC+, and despite the flowery language from Mercedes-Benz, this is not a celebration.

It is a wake. After seven years on sale, the A 45 S is being retired, and the reason has nothing to do with sales or demand.

The problem is the M139. That hand-assembled 2.0-litre turbo four, built in Affalterbach under AMG's "One Man, One Engine" principle, is still the most powerful series-production four-cylinder ever fitted to a road car.

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It is also, in its highest-output form, not going to pass Euro 7. Re-engineering it to comply was reportedly deemed too expensive to bother with. AMG hasn't said this out loud. It doesn't really need to.

So what you're looking at is a farewell package, and it is entirely cosmetic. Nothing mechanical has changed.

What you actually get

Two paint choices: MANUFAKTUR mountain grey magno or night black, both with dark chrome door handles. Matte black 19-inch AMG forged wheels in a cross-spoke design, with yellow AMG logos on the hub caps. Gloss black brake calipers with white AMG lettering. A silver chrome fuel filler cap, because apparently that needed a mention.

Optionally you can have the front doors wrapped with a big yellow and black "45 S" graphic with a white outline, plus mirror caps in an AMG diamond pattern, black with yellow trim. There are yellow accents scattered around elsewhere.

Both AMG Night Packages are standard, so mirror housings, trim strips and tailpipe finishers go high-gloss black or dark chrome, along with the grille struts and model badging.

The AMG Aerodynamics Package is optional. Wind tunnel developed, it adds a bigger front splitter with flics, a gloss black roof spoiler, flow separation edges at the rear apron and a black diffuser blade. AMG says it improves high-speed stability. It also makes the car look considerably angrier in a car park, which is arguably the point.

Inside: AMG Performance seats in ARTICO and MICROCUT with yellow contrast stitching, "45 S" embroidered into the front headrests, a "45 S Final Edition" plaque on the centre console, Nappa and MICROCUT steering wheel with yellow topstitching, aluminium trim with the AMG pattern, black AMG door sills and floor mats with "45 S" lettering.

The bit that stings

In Germany, the extra kit costs between €6,074.95 and €10,091.20 including VAT depending on how much you tick, which is roughly RM30,000 to RM50,000 at current rates. In the UK the whole car lands at £67,965.

For context, a standard A 45 S has been on sale in Malaysia at around RM530,000, and the 10-unit Limited Edition in AMG green hell magno went out at RM558,888 in 2024.

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has not confirmed the Final Edition for our market yet, and given how quickly the Limited Edition allocation moved, Malaysian buyers who want one should be talking to a dealer now rather than waiting for a press release.

At that money you are looking well past a Honda Civic Type R at RM399,900, a Volkswagen Golf R at RM431,162 or a Toyota GR Yaris at RM315,600. The AMG has always been the expensive answer to a question most people answer with a Type R.

Nothing has changed underneath

The 2.0-litre turbo still makes 421 hp, and 500 Nm. Zero to 100 km/h takes 3.9 seconds, top speed is limited to 270 km/h. Drive goes through the eight-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT and the fully variable AMG Performance 4MATIC+ system with AMG TORQUE CONTROL, which can shuffle torque across the rear axle.

Combined WLTP consumption is quoted at 9.2 to 9.0 l/100 km.

A fifth-generation A-Class is due in 2028 on the MMA platform, and the performance version is expected to lean on the electric CLA 45's tri-motor setup, which makes around 671 hp.

On paper that will bury this car. It will also weigh considerably more and will not have a four-cylinder engine bolted together by one person who signed the plaque.

Whether Mercedes-Benz Malaysia brings a hot AMG compact back after this is an open question. For now, if you want an AMG hatchback with a combustion engine on sale in Malaysia, this is the last stop.

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