Mercedes-Benz to bring the CLA 45 AMG Racing Series to Frankfurt
Mercedes-Benz has officially confirmed the CLA 45 AMG Racing Series for the upcoming 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show. The CLA 45 AMG Racing Series is the German automaker's baby for customers looking for an entry-level race car.
The car is Merc's effort to increase its presence in the customer motorsport realm. "The CLA 45 AMG Racing Series demonstrates our desire to further increase our commitment to customer motorsport. We are also seeking to offer interested customer teams a competitive, near-standard racing car with an excellent level of safety in the popular four-cylinder segment. The tremendous success of the SLS AMG GT3, which is now being raced by customer teams across five different continents, makes us highly confident," says Ola Kallenius, CEO, Mercedes-AMG GmbH.
The production version of the car can be had with various custom technical specifications, engine output and power transmission of either all-wheel drive or front-wheel drive. The Racing Series gets its power from the same, four-banger which powers the standard CLA 45 AMG, 2.0-litre turbocharged engine that dishes out 359PS. The transmission is also the same 7-speed dual-clutch AMG Speedshift.
The body of the car gets numerous aerodynamic tweaks and is predominantly carbon-fiber reinforced plastics. It also gets a special racing suspension which has a wider track at the front and rear. The suspension level, spring rate and damper behaviour are modifiable, so are the track and camber at the front and rear axles. The high-performance braking system with ventilated discs is equipped with ABS.
Race aesthetics include a new front and rear apron, flared wings, side sill panels, treadless racing tyres, roll-over cage, Recaro racing seats and a fire extinguishing system. The racing steering wheel comes with shift paddles for gearshifts.