Brabus B45 – 450 | Review
Words Christian Parodi / Photos Brabus
Halfway between being considered a very quick compromise and a practical sports car with five doors and five seats, the AMG A45 has retired its first generation and further moved its take on madness thanks to an increase in power to say the least astonishing. What is maintained is the compact look suitable for the family that in Comfort mode does not forget its origins and acts as a perfect partner for grocery and school runs as well as the trip back home, where you will surely not risk to arrive late. Starting from 360 horsepower and bringing the power to 381 with the restyling of the previous series, the second generation logically assumes the more sinuous shapes of the new A-Class, pulling out 421 horsepower from its 4-cylinder 2-liter.
An increase of 40 horsepower – for the A45 S – is pretty amazing, especially if we take into account that the body is basically that of a small-sized sedan and with a length of 4.4 meters and a weight of 1,550 kg, which combined with the permanent all-wheel drive also equipped with a self-locking differential that also promises some sort of “drift mode” and the 8-speed automatic transmission guarantees a more than realistic possibility of use, also and above all by less experienced drivers, than with AMGs of higher range would certainly have no way of reaching the same speeds with equal ease.
But where the AMG A45 S did not completely pleased us, at least in terms of driving involvement and for the promise kept only halfway in terms of traction and management of the same on the two axles, we are happy that the expert hands of Brabus, historic German tuner that for over forty years has left its mark on the cars of the three-pointed star, have worked their magic and given the smallest AMG in the list that grit that was lacking to be truly worthy of wearing its own badge. Called B45 – 450, where the “B” stands for Bottrop – the location where Brabus is based – the abbreviation leaves no room for imagination and reveals that the already overflowing power has been further increased and therefore brought to 450 horses. The 4-cylinder now has an even more impressive torque curve with an extra 50 Nm which therefore allows to deliver 550 Nm between 5,000 and 5,250 rpm. You will notice that despite the substantial increase in performance, the management of the control unit maintains the peaks at the original range, in such a way as not to distort the driving feel of the model that came out of the Affalterbach gates, but rather optimize the whole.
Of course, you can feel the extra horses and this definitely is the step that seemed insurmountable despite figures that on a hatchback sound exasperated. The violence during shifting in Sport mode and therefore Sport + becomes much more evident, with pleasant tugs that are discharged to the outside world through the new titanium exhaust system, another fundamental aspect that gives nerve to the sound that was really missing the point in a masterful 2-liters which, however, had to comply with the boring anti-pollution regulations that cut fun and decibels. We said that the delivery remains numerically similar to the original, obviously lowering the reaction times of the car once the throttle is pressed hard. Now you go from 0 to 100 kph in 3.7 seconds and no longer in 4, while top speed remains unchanged, 270 per hour electronically limited.
But the optimization made on the ECU, which comes home together with a 3-year or 100,000 km warranty, is not the only modification that makes the B45 – 450 the malignant doppelganger of the A45 S, because part of the dynamic improvement also goes to be attributed to the suspension, adjustable in a range between 0 and 30 mm, while the new 20-inch Brabus Monoblock Z wheels are beautiful to look at and transmit every slight bump or imperfection of the road straight to the steering. Not a package of improvements that make the AMG A45 S a better car, but a series of targeted actions that lead it to be what we would have expected, especially with an engine that today represents the absolute reference point in terms of performance-focused 4 cylinders.
The product offered by Brabus does not neglect the attention to details even in terms of aesthetics, with more carbon fiber, more marked spoilers and the classic B standing out in the middle of the tailgate and in the front grille, which has two red profiles, also taken up with the brake calipers. In the cockpit, regardless of whether the customer can really have it made according to each own taste, we find Brabus logos (not on the steering wheel though) illuminable in 64 different colors via the multimedia system, but in the best tradition of the German firm, nothing is upset and more generally the same mood of a traditional A45 is perceived, apart from the fact that once on the move, it is really easy to realize that you are dealing with a substantially evolved piece of kit.
Aesthetically more aggressive, dynamically sharpened and ultimately more convincing than the starting model has been able to do in 8 years, the B45 – 450 is what I would call the highest step in the hatchback universe, where the A45 S undresses the clothes of a small AMG and wears those of a small supercar. A subtle difference, you might argue, but Brabus has great experience and shows that for standing out in the immense tuning panorama you don’t need absurd widebody kits, nor even obscene marble-like paint. What matters is precisely what has been infused into an upgrade that does not distort the image of a pleasing five-door suitable for young people and those who are beginning to have a pronounced receding hairline, but which lends supercar figures to the world of hot-hatches such as no one had ever dared to do until now and all this accompanied by more vivid driving feedback, abrupt if you like, but indispensable when dealing with a car to which the definition of “smallest AMG” is out of place. Gentlemen, we are now facing one of the best AMGs ever seen.
BRABUS B45 – 450
Engine 4 cylinder turbocharged, 1.991 cc Power 450 hp @ 6.750 rpm Torque 550 Nm @ 5.000-5.250 rpm
Traction All-Wheel-Drive Transmission 8-Speed Automatic Gearbox Weight 1.560 kg
0-100 kph 3,7 sec Top Speed 270 kph (limit.)