Worth drooling over CLA 45 AMG Edition 1 is here
Published:Friday | January 17, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter
Silver Star Motors just about cleaned up the drool from car enthusiasts after unveiling the Mercedes-Benz CLA October, last year, but now there's more commotion.
This after the cover came off the CLA 45 AMG Edition 1 at its South Camp Road offices on Tuesday.
AMG is the company that has produced more souped-up versions of Mercedes-Benz vehicles for decades.
Time for the bad news. The Edition 1 is a special version of the 45 AMG and the one on show is the only one in the Caribbean. And it's already been bought (sigh).
"On top of it being a 45, on top of the very powerful engine, it is a limited edition, and that's always good to have," said Sloane Jackson, brand sales manager for Mercedes-Benz at Silver Star Motors.
The good news is the 'regular' CLA 45 AMG, which - save for a few details - looks like the Edition 1, will be available.
"I don't think there's anything regular about it," joked Jackson. "The CLA 45 AMG, without the Edition 1 package, will go between $J9 and 10 million." Jackson expects all CLA models to do well.
business people
"The target market is actually anybody who has a pulse," he joked.
"The regular CLA 200 is a J$6 million car, and it will be appealing to young entrepreneurs, it will be appealing to executives."
Jackson said lovers of the wider C-Class range, which runs the gamut of customers, will love the CLAs. For 2014, Silver Star will also be offering the CLA 250 4Matic, a midstream model between the 200 and the AMG.
"That car is about J$7 million and will give you four-wheel drive and two-litre turbo," Jackson said. "That's the one that we expect to be the best seller."
Overall, the CLAs are expected to appeal to "performance-model customers" who like cars like the Mitsubishi Evolution and Subaru WRX.
"We do expect more of those customers to come in," said Jackson.
The projections may not be far off. Jackson said since its launch, the CLA models have been in high demand and have got much traction.
"It is still a four-door sedan to most people, even though it's a four-door coupe," he said. "But the styling is what attracts a lot of people and also the efficiency. those are 50-miles-per-gallon cars."