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Mercedes-AMG GmbH, commonly known as AMG (initially known as Aufrecht Melcher Großaspach (German)), is the high performance division of the Mercedes-Benz car company. Mercedes-Benz acquired majority interest in AMG in 1999.[1]
AMG or Aufrecht Melcher Großaspach was founded as a racing engine forge in 1967, as AMG Motorenbau und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (AMG Engine Production and Development, Ltd.), by former Mercedes engineers Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher, in a town called Großaspach, near Stuttgart.
"AMG" is an abbreviation which stands for: Hans Werner Aufrecht (A) and Erhard Melcher (M) who were partners, while Aufrecht’s birthplace of Großaspach (G) supplied the third letter in the company name.
Overview
AMG logo on a Mercedes C63 AMG (W204)
AMG started off by designing and testing racing engines[2]. They expanded their business into building bespoke road trucks, based upon standard Mercedes cars.
By the early 1980s, AMG had moved to nearby located in Affalterbach under the sole ownership of Aufrecht. Erhard Melcher stayed at the second location, a former mill in Burgstall, to deliver engine parts.
AMG Penta 5 Spoke 16x8 type 1 wheel, the first light aluminum alloy wheel marketed by AMG. Designed by H.W. Aufrecht in 1979 and manufactured by ATS. [3]
Mainly for the modern Mercedes-Benz W107,[3] 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 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.[3]
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,[4] 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.[5] 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 1 World Championship.
A recent development, the AMG performance Studio located in Affalterbach, caters for bespoke modifications on all AMG and standard Mercedes-Benz models.
In 1991 Daimler acquired 51% of AMG, Hans Werner Aufrecht sold his remaining shares of the company in 2005.
Motor racing
Mercedes AMG DTM car (2003)
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.
In order to retain a small dedicated racing team, H.W.A GmbH was founded by H.-W. Aufrecht in 1999. 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.
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.
Models
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.[6]
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
Mercedes SLK 55 AMG (R171)
A rare 2006 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG
The main engine is a 5.4 L V8 engine, designated the M113, that carries the "55" designation. However, this engine comes in two configurations.
- The first configuration is found in the C55 AMG, CLK55 AMG and SLK55 AMG is a naturally aspirated V8 with 360 PS (355 hp/265 kW).
- The other configuration is a similar unit but with a highly efficient Lysholm type supercharger manufactured by IHI, found in the rest of the AMG 55 models. The published output according to Mercedes varies from 476 PS (469 hp/350 kW) to 517 PS (510 hp/380 kW), 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.
As of 2008:
65
AMG also produces a 612 horsepower (456 kW) (604bhp, 1000Nm), 6.0 L V12 engine with twin turbochargers - designated with the "65" badge.
DTM Coupe/Cabrio
Black Series
- CLK63 AMG Black Series
- SLK55 AMG Black Series
- SL63 AMG Black Series
- SL65 AMG Black Series
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 481 PS (474 hp/354 kW) on the CLK63AMG, to 525 PS (518 hp/386 kW) on the S/CL 63 AMG.
- M156 6.2 L "6.3" V8 models
Previous AMG models
In addition to the models listed below, there were also predecessors to the current AMG models. All utilised either the current M113 5.5 L normally aspirated Single Overhead-Cam V8, or a previous version of it. These models included:
Other previous AMG models include:
30
Competing Mercedes-Benz performance specialists
See also
References
- ^ Newhardt, David. "Behind the Scenes: Mercedez-Benz AMG". MotorTrend.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
- ^ 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
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