The new AMG CLA 45 is a 680 hp electric rocket that pretends to be a petrol car
AMG's baby bruiser goes electric, and it is savagely fast
Mercedes-AMG has just electrified its baby bruiser, and the numbers are wild. The new CLA 45 4MATIC+ drops petrol entirely for three axial-flux electric motors making 680 hp, enough for a supercar-humbling 2.7-second sprint to 100 km/h. And yes, it can pretend to be a combustion AMG when you want it to.
Three axial-flux motors, 680 hp
The headline is the powertrain. The CLA 45 uses three compact axial-flux electric motors, two on the rear axle and one on the front, the same groundbreaking motor tech that debuted in the AMG GT 4-door Coupe. Together they produce a peak 680 hp, and crucially they can deliver full power repeatedly rather than fading after one launch. The result is a 0-100 km/h time of just 2.7 seconds, genuine super-sports-car territory from a compact Mercedes, with fully variable all-wheel drive putting it all down.
Long range and rapid charging
Impressively, this performance does not come at the cost of usability. Built on an 800-volt architecture, the CLA 45 charges at up to 330 kW, doing 10 to 80 percent in just 22 minutes and adding over 270 km in ten. Range is strong too: up to 670 km on the WLTP cycle for the saloon, or 640 km for the Shooting Brake, roughly the distance from Berlin to Vienna. As a fast EV you could actually use every day, that is a compelling combination.
It fakes a petrol AMG, on purpose
Here is the part that will divide opinion. A driving mode called AMGFORCE S+ deliberately simulates the experience of a combustion AMG, serving up the characteristic sound of a high-performance AMG four-cylinder and even interrupting drive during simulated gear changes to mimic shifting a real gearbox. It is pure theatre, artificial drama layered onto an electric car, but for a brand whose identity is so tied to sound and feel, you can see why AMG has done it. There are seven drive modes in total, adaptive AMG RIDE CONTROL damping and an AMG Dynamic+ package with TRACK PACE telemetry logging over 80 data points ten times a second.
Saloon or Shooting Brake
At launch the CLA 45 comes as a saloon or, joy of joys, a Shooting Brake estate, both with active aerodynamics: a deploying rear spoiler on the saloon and a roof-edge spoiler on the Shooting Brake. It builds on the standard Mercedes-Benz CLA, which was named European Car of the Year 2026 and was the safest car Euro NCAP tested in 2025, so the foundations are rock solid. Naturally there is a full AMG makeover inside and out, with Performance seats, an AMG steering wheel and an optional illuminated grille.
AutoNext Take
As a piece of engineering, this is seriously impressive: 680 hp, a 2.7-second sprint and 670 km of range from a compact AMG is a genuine leap, and offering it as a Shooting Brake earns big points from us estate lovers. The clever axial-flux motors and 330 kW charging show Mercedes-AMG is taking electric performance seriously. The fake engine sound and simulated gearshifts are where we are torn. We understand why AMG feels it needs to inject emotion into an EV, and some drivers will love it, but part of us wishes a car this genuinely fast would just be confident being electric. Either way, an electric AMG estate with supercar pace is a thrilling thing, and a world away from analog heroes like the manual Ferrari 12Cilindri. As ever, we are just glad the fast estate lives on, whether it is this, the racing BMW M3 Touring 24H or the coachbuilt Ferrari Daytona shooting brake.
