During an official interview, Gorden Wagener, head of the Mercedes-Benz Design Department, revealed that the upcoming generation A-Klasse will boast peak quality of assembly, that is superior to the current C-Klasse lineup. While the series model is bound to lose the concept's glitzy radiator grille, the huge wheels with their extreme sports design and the sculptural, minimal architecture of the interior, the new A-Klasse will resemble at least 80%-90% of the show car unveiled in Shanghai. The dashboard will be trimmed out of premium materials such as leather, wood or metal and will retain the impressive, aircraft turbine-shaped air vents and the main design shapes and surfaces. Communication will mark the entrance in a new era at Mercedes-Benz, with an improved COMAND infotainment system, that can be operated via a round controller and a high-tech display mimicking the looks of the fancy Apple iPad. Sticking to the technical side of the W 246, apart from the standard gasoline and diesel choices, a spicy AMG version is in the works, according to recent rumours. Olla Kaellenius himself has admitted once that he's seriously thinking on building this variant. If the hot hatch, probably dubbed A 25 AMG, becomes reality some time after 2013, then it will pack out at least 350 hp out of a newly-developed 4-cylinder, supercharged engine. To deliver a mind-blowing road performance, the AMG engineers are said to be mastering a new four wheel drive technical platform that will certainly handle pretty well those grumpy ponnies "neighing" under the hood.
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