Mercedes-AMG Sends Off the A 45 S With a Gray Final Edition, and the Hot Four-Cylinder Hatch Era Ends With It

Mercedes-AMG is ending the A 45 S the way carmakers end everything now: with special paint, some yellow stitching and a bigger price. The A 45 S 4Matic+ Final Edition was announced July 27 for Europe and the UK, and Carscoops reports the hatch should be discontinued later this year. Autoevolution calls it the punchiest hot hatch in the world, and it is hard to argue.

Americans never got this car. The A-Class hatchback and the A 45 S were not sold in the United States, as autoevolution points out. But the engine under its hood, the M139 2.0-liter turbo four, has been a centerpiece of AMG's compact cars since the A 45 and CLA 45 launched together in 2019, and its farewell says a lot about where AMG performance is headed.

Same engine, louder outfit

Mechanically, this is the A 45 S you already know. The four-cylinder makes 421 PS (416 hp) and 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) and sends it through the eight-speed AMG Speedshift DCT 8G dual-clutch and 4Matic+ all-wheel drive with AMG Torque Control. Mercedes quotes 3.9 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) and an electronically limited 270 km/h (168 mph).

The changes are visual. Carscoops lists Manufaktur Mountain Gray Magno paint, a darker look than the bright green of 2024's Limited Edition, plus Dark Chrome door handles, yellow accents and 45 S graphics on the sides, mirror caps and rear wing. The AMG Night Packages I and II are standard, and so is the AMG Aerodynamics Package with its front splitter, canards, diffuser blade and rear wing. The forged 19-inch wheels are black with a white ring and yellow accents, the calipers are gloss black with white AMG lettering, and even the fuel cap gets silver chrome with AMG script.

Inside are AMG Performance seats in black Artico synthetic leather and Microcut microfiber, with yellow stitching and 45 S embroidery, plus aluminum trim and a 45 S Final Edition badge on the console.

The price of saying goodbye

In the UK the Final Edition starts at £67,965, which autoevolution converts to about $90,540. For scale, the same outlet lists the A 35 from £48,040. Mercedes has not said how many it will build, and it is taking orders now.

The bigger story is what comes after it. Carscoops reports that Mercedes is stretching the A-Class's life to 2028 by moving production from Germany to Hungary, but the A 45 S is not part of that plan. AMG's next compact performance car is expected to follow the electric CLA 45, which Carscoops lists at 680 PS (671 hp).

It is a strange handoff. The electric car will have more power, and nobody doubts it will be quick. What goes away is a 2.0-liter four that revs, pops and pulls like something much bigger, in a car small enough to throw around a roundabout. For anyone who ever lined an A 45 S up against an Audi RS 3, the scorecard ends here with the Mercedes ahead: Carscoops puts the RS 3 Sportback at 400 PS (395 hp). The M139 goes out on top, and it goes out in gray.