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The Germans love producing high-performance vehicles – lots of them – and you needn’t look any further than Mercedes-AMG for proof of that fact. That said, will its model line-up expand much further?
Excluding the B-Class hatch and SL-Class Roadster, every single member of the Mercedes-Benz Cars family is available with at least one AMG version at the time of writing. That equals a staggering 39 upgraded Benz models on top of Mercedes-AMG’s 11 in-house vehicles.
In fact, most Mercedes-Benz models have two AMG versions, including the A-Class hatch (A35 and A45), CLA coupe and Shooting Brake (CLA35 and CLA45), C-Class sedan, Estate, coupe and Cabriolet (C43 and C63); E-Class sedan and Estate (E53 and E63), GLA SUV (GLA35 and GLA45), GLC SUV and coupe (GLC43 and GLC63), and GLE SUV and coupe (GLE53 and GLE63).
Among the Benz models with just one Mercedes-AMG version are the A-Class sedan (A35), E-Class coupe and Cabriolet (E53), CLS coupe (CLS53), S-Class sedan, coupe and Cabriolet (S63), SLC-Class Roadster (SLC43), GLB SUV (GLB35), GLS SUV (GLS63) and G-Class SUV (G63).
In regard to the Mercedes-Benz models that are missing out on the action, the B-Class hatch has never been given the AMG treatment in its 15-year life, unlike its mechanical siblings.
Meanwhile, the SL Roadster was offered with two such versions (SL63 and SL65) during most of its current generation and will undoubtedly be once again available with at least one in its next life cycle.
It’s also worth noting the S-Class sedan, coupe and Cabriolet had a second Mercedes-AMG version (S65) in their existing iterations, so it’s clear there has been a lot of movement in the fettled Benz model range in recent times.
Needless to say, the AMG-fettled line-up is comprehensive, with the arrivals of the ‘entry-level’ A35 hatch and sedan, CLA35 coupe and Shooting Brake, GLA35 SUV, GLB35 SUV and GLE53 SUV and coupe more than covering the aforementioned departures.
And of course, Mercedes-AMG has its own separate range, too, headlined by the GT 4-Door coupe (GT43, GT53 and GT63) and GT coupe and Roadster (GT, GT S, GT C and GT R).
Comparatively, BMW just has M versions of the 2 Series coupe (M2), 3 Series sedan (M3), 4 Series coupe and convertible (M4), 5 Series sedan (M5), 8 Series coupe and convertible (M8), X3 SUV (X3 M), X4 coupe (X4 M), X5 SUV (X5 M) and X6 SUV (X6 M).
That said, the argument could be safely made that BMW’s entry-level M Performance line-up falls under the M banner, in which case its high-performance catalogue comes closer to that of Mercedes-AMG.
The same is true of Audi, which only has RS versions of the A3 hatch and sedan (RS3), A4 Avant (RS4), A5 coupe and Sportback (RS5), A6 Avant (RS6), A7 Sportback (RS7), Q3 SUV and Sportback (RS Q3), and Q8 SUV (RS Q8).
Throw Audi’s entry-level S range into equation, though, and it find itself not too far removed from Mercedes-AMG and BMW in terms of model count.
It therefore goes without saying BMW and Audi have plenty of room to move when it comes to plugging holes in their high-performance line-ups, whereas Mercedes-AMG doesn’t.
However, that doesn’t mean Mercedes-AMG has run out of plays to make, as it is expected to release new plug-in hybrid ‘73 series’ models in the near future, likely starting with the GT 4-Door coupe.
At the same time, though, the S63 coupe and Cabriolet, and SLC43 Roadster will reportedly make way, so it’s possible Mercedes-AMG’s model count will continue to be relatively steady.
But there’s always a chance the Mercedes-Benz Cars family grows yet again, in which case more AMG models would likely follow.
Of course, time will tell, but for now, there’s no denying Mercedes-AMG buyers are well and truly spoilt for choice.
