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| Type | subsidiary of Daimler AG |
|---|---|
| Founded | Burgstall a. d. Murr, Germany 1967 |
| Founder(s) | Hans Werner Aufrecht Erhard Melcher |
| Headquarters | Affalterbach, Germany |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Industry | Automotive industry |
| Products | High performance engines and cars, automotive sports accessories |
| Services | research and development |
| Owner(s) | Daimler AG |
| Employees | ≈700 |
| Parent | Mercedes-Benz |
| Website | Mercedes-AMG.com |
Mercedes-AMG GmbH, commonly known as AMG, is a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz car company specializing in high-performance luxury cars.
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History
Development of the product range
AMG started off by designing and testing racing engines[1]. They expanded their business into building bespoke road trucks, based upon standard Mercedes cars.
Mainly for the modern Mercedes-Benz W107,[2] Mercedes-Benz W126 and Mercedes-Benz W201 models, AMG was producing a range of unofficial upgrade and accessories packages, although there were no official tie-ups until the mid 1980s, when AMG started to supply the company with aftermarket alloy wheels and automotive styling products. Typical AMG cosmetic and performance enhancements from 1979 to 1985, which could all be custom ordered by the buyer, included 15" or 16" ATS for AMG 5 spoked Penta wheels, Recaro seats, painting of all external chrome parts to the car's body color or to black, an AMG steering wheel with a smaller diameter than the one that came standard with the car, lowered and stiffened suspension, aerodynamic AMG front air dam and spoiler kit, modified cams, a custom exhaust to increase the base horsepower, and in rare cases a 5 speed manual transmission.[2]
The release of the AMG Hammer sedan in 1986, based on the Mercedes-Benz W124, took AMG's performance modifications for a fast compact sedan to a new level. AMG made the world's fastest passenger sedan at the time, nicknamed the Hammer,[3] by tuning a Mercedes 5.6-liter V8 to 360 hp, and squeezing that motor into Mercedes' midsized 300-series sedan. It was very aggressive for the era with a modified Mercedes-Benz 5.6 liter engine, 32-valve cylinder heads and twin camshafts, good for 360 bhp DIN. It was said to be faster than the Lamborghini Countach from 60 to 120 mph.[4] Later models were even more powerful and introduced the 17" AMG Aero 1 Hammer wheels.
To take advantage of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) race successes, official AMG-Mercedes models were developed in the 1990s. Since the Mercedes-Benz takeover, AMG sales have risen over 500%.
In addition, AMG provides safety cars for the FIA Formula One World Championship.
A recent development, the AMG performance Studio located in Affalterbach, caters for bespoke modifications on all AMG and standard Mercedes-Benz models.
Motor racing
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, AMG entered the big Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 V8 saloon, affectionately named the "Red Sow", in the 1971 Spa 24 Hours, and the European Touring Car Championship. AMG and Mercedes worked together on Mercedes-Benz W201 cars for the 1988 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM, German Touring Car Championship). AMG was made the official partner.
When DaimlerChrysler acquired a majority share of AMG in 1999, the motor racing department was divested into HWA GmbH. Their first car was the ill-fated Mercedes-Benz CLR. Since 2000, HWA builds and runs the cars for Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), as well as the M271 engine tuned for use in Formula 3.
Six successive lightly modified Mercedes-Benz AMG models (including, most recently, an SL 63 AMG) have acted as the official Safety Cars of the F1 racing series.
Through the early 2000s, AMG focused on supercharged engines (with the exception of the V12 used in the Pagani Zonda), but the company officially abandoned this technology in 2006, with the introduction of the M156 V8. On 16 January 2006, Mercedes-AMG Chairman Volker Mornhinweg told AutoWeek that the company would use turbocharging for higher output rather than supercharging.[5]
AMG models are typically the most expensive of each nameplate. However, there are exceptions, notably the V12 S600 which was pricier than the S55 AMG and S63 AMG, the latter two powered by V8 engines.
Relationship with Pagani
AMG also provides engines for the Pagani Zonda supercar. The engines used are variants of the M120 7,291cc displacement V12 engine originally used in the SL73 AMG. The M120 is the largest displacement naturally-aspirated engine provided by AMG and is now exclusively used by Pagani.
Current AMG models
All AMG engines are hand built, using a "one man, one engine" philosophy at the current AMG plant in Affalterbach, Germany. To signify this, each AMG engine builder stamps the engines they produce with an engraved plaque depicting their signature.
As part of the official Mercedes product line, the AMG models are sold side-by-side with regular production models, unlike those offered by other Mercedes tuning firms such as Brabus.
55
The main engine is a 5.4 L V8 engine, designated the M113, that carries the "55" designation. This engine comes in two configurations.
- The first configuration is a naturally aspirated V8 with 360 PS (355 hp/265 kW) that is used in compact cars, namely the C55 AMG, CLK55 AMG and SLK55 AMG .
- The other configuration is a similar unit but with a highly efficient Lysholm type supercharger manufactured by IHI, is found in the rest of the AMG 55 models which are typically midsized or larger vehicles. The published output according to Mercedes varies from 476 PS (469 hp/350 kW) to 517 PS (510 hp/380 kW) and Template:Auto NM to Template:Auto NM, depending on various methods of power measurements and different ECU programming for national legislations.
AMG will phase out both the naturally aspirated and supercharged 5.4 L engines in favour of the new M156 V8 beginning in 2006.
For the Model Year 2009:
- M113 5.4 L "55" V8 models (naturally aspirated)
- M113 5.4 L "55" V8 models (supercharged)
Previous 55 AMG Models
- 1998-2001 SL55 AMG
- 1999-2002 E55 AMG
- 2000-2003 ML55 AMG
- 2001-2002 CLK55 AMG
- 2003-2006 CLK55 AMG
- 2004-2007 CLS55 AMG
- 2001-2008 SL55 AMG
- 2001-2006 S55 AMG
- 2001-2006 CL55 AMG
- 2005-2006 C55 AMG
- 2001-2009 G55 AMG
63
AMG developed its own V8 engine (dubbed M156 in development) for the DTM series. This naturally aspirated V8 will also be used to replace most of the "55" models. The published output according to Mercedes varies from 457 PS (451 hp/336 kW) on the C63AMG, to 525 PS (518 hp/386 kW) on the S/SL/CL/E 63 AMG.
- M156 L 6.3 V8 models
- 2007 S63 AMG (introduced at the 2006 Paris Motor Show)
- 2007 ML63 AMG (introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show)
- 2007 R63 AMG (introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show]
- 2007 CLK63 AMG (introduced at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show) (used as Safety Car for the 2006 and 2007 F1 World Championship)
- 2007 CLS63 AMG (introduced at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show)
- 2008 C63 AMG
- 2007 E63 AMG
- 2008 CL63 AMG
- 2009 SL63 AMG
- 2010 E63 AMG
65
These are the only AMG vehicles using a 5-speed automatic transmission, as the newer 7G-Tronic cannot handle the torque from the V12 engines.
- 6.0L 612 PS (604 hp/450 kW) BiTurbo V12
DTM Coupe/Cabrio
Black Series
- CLK63 AMG Black Series
- SL65 AMG Black Series
- SLK AMG Black Series
Previous AMG models
In addition to the models listed below, there were also predecessors to the current AMG models.
There are also other AMG models no longer in production:
- 1989 Mercedes-Benz W126 560SEL 6L 32V AMG
- 1986 300E "Hammer" AMG
- 1992 300E-24V 3.4L E34 and E34T AMG
- 1993 E320 3.6L E36 and E36T AMG
- 1993-1994 E60 AMG
- period unknown SL70 AMG
- 1995, 1998-2001 SL73 AMG
- 1996-1998 SL60 AMG
- 1998-2002 CLK-GTR AMG
- 1995-1997 C36 AMG
- 1998-2000 C43 AMG
- 2002-2004 C32 AMG
- 2005-2006 C55 AMG
- 2001-2004 SLK32 AMG
30
Competing Mercedes-Benz performance specialists
See also
- List of German cars
- BMW M
- quattro GmbH
- Audi S and RS models
- Street and Racing Technology
- Special Vehicle Team
- Super Sport
- Gran Turismo
References
- ^ A Look Back At AMG's Illustrious 40 Year History" www.eMercedesBenz.com The Mercedes-Benz weblog, May, 2008.
- ^ a b c Hall, Jim. "Rhapsody in Red: 500SL AMG" Motor Trend Magazine, October, 1983.
- ^ "AMG's Hammer" Auto Week, June 23, 1986.
- ^ Setright, LJK. "Firebrand: AMG Hammer Sedan" Car Magazine, December, 1986. Pp.149-155
- ^ AMG's new chief has big plans for 2006 - AutoWeek Magazine
External links
- Mercedes-AMG.com official website
- Mercedes-Benz.com official website
- AMGmarket.com The History of AMG Mercedes-Benz
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