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There is something rather special about driving a high-powered motor car around a racing track. The onslaught of adrenalin as you begin, the effect it has on your heart and the intense focus it creates throughout your sensory system. Sometimes when it ends you’re left with a residual kick of too much excitement, resulting in the shakes.

It’s a fantastic feeling comparable to little else; perhaps a ride on a rollercoaster could be assimilated, but the fact that you aren’t in control would rule out a true likeness. This feeling is heightened when your environment is compromised. Picture the day: wet to the point where the ground was saturated with water, but without being flooded. The temperature: mild and the sky painted with a solid, but delicately illuminated haze of grey.

The task: getting from point A (the start) to point B (the finish) in as fast a time as possible. I would be driving a Mercedes-Benz AMG 45 vehicle (CLA and later a GLA) in the pouring rain on a track with hairpin bends, and reaching speeds of up to 180km/h. Sound crazy? In theory it should be, and potentially an accident waiting to happen. Instead it was a glorious sensation, which was quietly orchestrated by a host of electronic marvels.

This would be my first driving encounter with an AMG, having previously only tinkered with vehicles from the Mercedes-Benz stable. After a little research and time spent with the South African AMG brand specialist, Marcel Perez, I found out that the AMG brand has a rich history that started in 1967 as an independent engineering firm, specialising in performance improvements for Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

Four and a half decades later, and some iconic motor cars created; for the first time in the firm’s illustrious relationship with Mercedes-Benz, AMG have created a four cylinder engine. Previously the development and handmade assembly of AMG motors were reserved for only six, eight and twelve cylinder engines. Not to disappoint the fans, AMG developed the world’s most powerful 2.0 four cylinder motor, which whacks out a whopping 265kW of visceral power from its dynamite packaging. These AMG engines are badged the 45’s, and are placed in Mercedes-Benz vehicles with petite proportions. The problem with these compact vehicles (A, CLA, GLA-Class) is that Mercedes-Benz have designed them with a front wheel drive system, which works perfectly within standard Mercedes-Benz engines, but when you throw the equivalent of a tempered Brue Lee under the bonnet, you have a problem. Those front wheels would never maintain traction with the roads surface. Cleverly, AMG have installed an all-wheel drive system badged ‘4Matic’, which eliminates such issues, and blissfully channels the power to the road, pacifying any unruly behaviour.

Both the CLA 45 and GLA 45 AMG are built from the same platform, though adapted for separate incarnations. The CLA is a compact executive sedan and GLA a crossover with SUV aspirations. It would seem that the CLA would be the resounding athlete of the family having a lower centre of gravity, and appearing tighter by dimension. Let’s just say it didn’t disappoint, but it was the GLA which surprised me most. Unflustered by its crossover armour and raised stance, this machine made light work of the track and shrugged its embellished shoulders at the rain, blasting around the track in lighting quick times.

The 45 AMG series of cars is now available at a Mercedes-Benz dealer near you. Be warned, these cars have been specifically engineered and designed to be special. They are unique in character, and a driver’s delight. This unfortunately comes at price: the 45 AMG family of cars are priced from R710 000 (CLA) and R755 000 (GLA). 

If you have the cash? I dare you to splash!

Mercedes-Benz SA website