HWA gives the AMG GT 63 685 hp and names it after the A in AMG
Three letters, one of the most important names in performance
Some tributes are marketing. This one is personal, and it has the performance to back it up. HWA is building the Tribute Edition, a run of 25 cars honouring Hans Werner Aufrecht, the man whose surname initial is literally the A in AMG. It is based on the Mercedes-AMG GT 63, re-engineered by HWA to up to 685 hp, and it is the real thing rather than a badge exercise.
The numbers
HWA quotes up to 685 hp and 870 Nm, and says the car has been technically redesigned rather than simply retuned, based on the Mercedes-AMG GT 63. That is a meaningful step over the standard car, and it puts the Tribute Edition firmly in serious performance territory, this is very much a traditional twin-turbo V8 experience, not a downsized one.
Who Hans Werner Aufrecht is, and why this matters
This is what gives the car its weight. Hans Werner Aufrecht co-founded AMG in 1967, and his surname is the A in Aufrecht Melcher Grossaspach, the name behind the badge on every fast Mercedes. He later founded HWA, the company building this tribute, and both are based in Affalterbach, the same small German town that is home to Mercedes-AMG. A homage to Aufrecht, made by Aufrecht's own firm, in Aufrecht's own town, is about as close to the source of AMG's DNA as it gets. HWA is careful to note it is fully independent of the Mercedes-Benz Group and not affiliated with Mercedes-AMG.
The design
The look is where HWA has had its fun. There is HWA Signature Badging, design stripes with a hologram effect, retro-inspired five-spoke wheels, colour-matched brake calipers and body-colour tailpipe trims, all shown to strong effect in red. Inside, colour-matched leather, redesigned details and illuminated door sills carry the theme through, and every car wears a numbered edition plaque. Buyers also get individual colour and material concepts, with exclusive paint mixes, so no two of the 25 need look alike.
The HWA context
This matters because HWA is not a sticker-and-bodykit operation. It is the same firm currently building the EVO restomod of the Mercedes 190E and racing the EVO R at the Nurburgring, work that has drawn attention for its engineering rather than its badges. A GT 63-based special from this team, with a genuine power increase and a full technical redesign, has real substance behind it.
What is still open
The one thing HWA has not published is the price, which for a 25-car, individually configured, re-engineered AMG GT 63 will not be modest. Full performance figures such as acceleration and top speed have not been detailed either, and HWA has said more is to follow. Anyone interested contacts HWA directly in Affalterbach to configure a car.
AutoNext Take
Tribute editions are usually the emptiest cars a company can make, a plaque and a colour standing in for meaning. This is the opposite on every count. The name being honoured is the actual founder of AMG, the company building it is his own, the town is the same one AMG calls home, and crucially the engineering is real: 685 hp and 870 Nm from a firm that races at the Nurburgring, not a wrap and a badge. It is a shame there are only 25, and the price will keep it a fantasy for almost everyone, but as a piece of motorsport heritage made tangible, this is exactly how it should be done.
