355 Reasons Why The Mercedes A45 AMG Is The Hottest Hot Hatch Ever

Feast your eyes on the all-new and much-anticipated Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG. When it goes on sale in July, it will be the most potent hot hatch on sale.

Powering the 155mph A-class is a hand-built and turbocharged 2.0-litre four-pot engine, which produces a colossal 355bhp at 6000rpm. Thanks to the A45's sophisticated four-wheel drive system and slick seven-spd dual-clutch auto 'box, Merc's entry-level AMG will demolish 62mph in a mere 4.6sec, making it 0.3sec quicker than the BMW M135i we raved about late last year.

Designed to tap into a younger buyer demographic, the hot 'A features titanium grey 18-inch alloys, a sports exhaust system, lower than standard ride height, beefed-up suspension and plenty of gloss black touches, which us 'young people' like. Apparently.

Inside the A45's cabin you'll find plenty of fake carbonfibre, red stitching and red seat belts and AMG badges, while the instrument cluster houses a handy race timer.

While there's no official word on pricing yet, we've been told to expect the Mercedes A45 AMG - which goes on sale in the UK in July - to cost £36,000, some £4.5k more than the slightly slower and arguably uglier M135i.

We'll be live at the hyper-hatch's world premiere at the Geneva motor show in March.

Here's a video of the A45 AMG in action: