Mercedes-AMG A35
The halfway-house AMG has made it to the AClass. While we wait for the hot one, this punchy A35 should whet the appetite, with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder cranking out 302bhp and 295lb ft via a seven-speed dual-clutch ‘box and 4Matic all-wheel drive. That’s good for a 4.7sec 062mph launch – the same as the now-outgoing Focus RS – but the 4Matic system has a frontwheel bias during regular driving and no drift mode. AMG-tuned axle geometry should help quell torquesteer. Along with the DTM-inspired dive planes and rear wing on the outside, there’s a Porsche-style rotary switch for the drive select system on the steering wheel and an AMG-tweaked MBUX system.