Mercedes A 45 AMG Wasn’t Mercedes’ First Hot Hatch

When it comes to hot hatches, Mercedes-Benz took its sweet time getting stuck into the thick of the action. While its main German rivals, namely Audi and BMW, started consistently offering premium hot hatches in the late 1990s and early 2000s, respectively, with their S3 and 135i models, it took Merc until 2013 to finally start mass-producing them. The brand, which has tended to focus on offering luxury vehicles throughout its history, preferred to stick with sedans, SUVs, and coupes during the 2000s, until the draw of the hot hatch market finally became too strong.
 

Many think the A45 AMG was Merc’s first crack at a hot hatch, but it actually came around a decade earlier. You’ll do well to find the model in question, though.
 
The C-Class Sport Coupe Was Angled At Being Affordable Fun For The Masses
When Mercedes-Benz introduced the second-generation C-Class sedan for the 2001 model year, it also decided to offer a two-door coupe version of the model, which was around seven inches shorter than its four-door sibling. It was angled towards being sportier and more stylish than the sedan, with the model being offered with a range of enhancements like sports suspension, as well as a range of supercharged engines. It shared the same wheelbase as the sedan, with the reduced length coming purely from its shorter body.
 
Named the Sport Coupe, it made its US debut along with the sedan for the 2002 model year. The base C230 Sport Coupe was priced at just shy of $30,000, making it the most affordable new Mercedes-Benz you could buy at the time. It was priced low to go up against the likes of the BMW 3-Series Compact.
 
You Could Get A Much More Powerful Version Of The Sport Coupe, If You Knew Where To Look
While the standard C230 came with a supercharged 1.8-liter inline-four, which sent 189 hp to the rear wheels, the more powerful C320 variant was graced with a naturally aspirated 3.2-liter V6 instead, which produced 215 hp. While both models could dash to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds or less, a real game changer would have been if Mercedes had sold the car with the supercharged V6 unit featured in the C32 AMG sedan. Unbeknownst to some, Merc did briefly offer such a creation, but you had to get one as a special order through the manufacturer’s AMG-Studio department.
 
While official production numbers regarding the so-called C32 Sport Coupe are unknown, it is thought that fewer than ten were ever delivered. Because the Sport Coupe featured a hatch tailgate, the C32 Sport Coupe became the first factory-produced Mercedes hot hatch ever made.
 
The C32 Sport Coupe Was A Bit Of A Powerhouse
As it used the same supercharged 3.2-liter V6 as the C32 Sedan and Wagon, the Sport Coupe had a commanding 354 hp on tap. No manual gearbox option was offered with the package, with the only choice being a five-speed automatic unit, though thanks to the grunt and the traction benefits brought by its rear-wheel drive configuration, the C32 Sports Coupe could nail 60 mph in just 5.2 seconds. Part of this pace was down to the transmission, as it was tweaked to shift around 35% faster than a standard Speedshift gearbox. It looked the part too, thanks to a more muscular AMG bodykit, 18-inch wheels, and an oval-shaped dual exhaust setup.
 
Mercedes’ Maiden Hot Hatch Handled Like A Sports Car
Alongside the powertrain enhancements, Mercedes-AMG also paid some attention to the Sport Coupe’s underpinnings. Its springs and dampers were tweaked to afford more responsive handling, an end further assisted by tougher stabilizer bars and a 1.1-inch reduction in ride height, which helped to lower the vehicle’s center of gravity and reduce body roll. A more effective set of brakes was also brought to the party, with ventilated discs ensuring that they could be hammered for longer before fading.
 
Mercedes’ first hot hatch was a potent one, though its rarity means you’ll find it tough to ever get one for yourself. Luckily, its sedan sibling stands out as a good alternative.
 

The Mercedes-AMG C32 Sedan Is Criminally Cheap
Considering the C32 AMG Sedan is essentially identical to the C32 Sport Coupe, aside from its larger body, which ensures that it’s more practical than its sibling, the more plentiful model represents stunning value in 2025. According to Classic.com, which collates auction listings from around the world, the average sale price for a C32 Sedan currently stands at $11,978. This sort of price point will net you a tidy middling-mileage example, such as a silver 2003 specimen offered through Bring a Trailer.
 
This car comes with a clean title and just 62,000 miles on the odometer, and comes with appealing equipment such as heated leather seats, an electric sunroof, and satellite navigation. In the end, the vehicle managed to fetch just $12,750, which is impressive value for a model that combines practicality, pace, and luxury as effectively as the C32 AMG does. There are plenty of examples available with higher mileage at even cheaper prices too, if you don’t mind taking a risk on a more-traveled performance car.
 
Mercedes Eventually Saw The Value In A Mass-Produced Hot Hatch
While the C32 Sport Coupe is the first factory-built hot hatch from Mercedes, the first high-volume offering from the brand was the 2013 A45 AMG. Based on the third-generation A-Class, the A45 was never offered in the US, and was instead only available in markets such as Europe and Australasia. Interestingly, the A45’s 360 hp output was very close to that of the C32 Sport Hatch, though the newer car got its grunt from a lighter and more compact turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four engine, which was a bit of a record breaker. The go-faster juice was also shared between all four wheels via Merc’s 4MATIC four-wheel-drive setup, which afforded it the traction to blast past the 60-mph barrier in 4.6 seconds, considerably faster than the old C32 Sport Coupe could manage.
 
The A45 continued to make use of a Speedshift automatic gearbox like the C32, though this time it was an even slicker seven-speed unit, which was another key reason for the extra pace offered by the newer machine. Like the C32 before it, the A45 was presented in a more aggressive frock than the standard A-Class, with a black front splitter and rear wing making it clear that this wasn’t any old Mercedes hatch. The cabin was also spruced up with copious amounts of carbon fiber trim, as well as a set of supportive but sumptuous AMG sports seats. The A45 has now been discontinued, but US drivers will have to wait another decade or so before being able to have even the earliest 2013 A45s shipped across the Atlantic, but the wait should be well worth it.