HWA A32 Kompressor test: Mercedes A-Class with 354 hp

HWA A32 Kompressor: Strong essences are kept in small bottles, an old saying tells. We have the small and stylish A-Class as a proof. Indeed, because a customer wanted it that way, HWA stuck the 354 hp V6 from the C32 AMG in the diminutive A-Class from 2002.

The fastest Mercedes A-Class of all time has a lot going for it, but truly no overtaking prestige. When the power egg appears in the rearview mirror, nobody makes room for it. Certainly no one who already drives 200 km / h fast. The driver of the powerful sports car or luxury sedan prefers to accelerate a little more instead of just… yield. 354 hp and 450 Nm in an A-Class…

Crazy, right? The power figure is bonkers. Kickdown brings the engine to the level for best acceleration. 354 hp and a maximum torque of 450 Newton meters are brought onto the road amazingly easily. And then the HWA A32 Mercedes A-Class, the underdog, plunges ahead leaving everything in its rear view mirror.

Not everyone can enjoy all this craziness, though, because a wealthy customer had the HWA A32 Mercedes A-Class Kompressor built as a one-off. At the HWA company in Affalterbach. Affalterbach? Exactly, the very home of the Mercedes-AMG powerhouse. And that is no coincidence. AMG founder Hans-Werner Aufrecht is the man behind HWA.

Total surgery instead of tuning

In the racing department of Daimler, particularly severe cases of automotive gambling addiction can be treated, for which there is no suitable prescription at AMG. In the A32 project, customary tuning was not enough. It was necessary to proceed to the total transformation route, taking the vow of silence about the price. Instead of a four-cylinder, there is now a 3.2-liter V6 with a mechanical compressor lurking under the front hood, which, like the complete front axle and the five-speed automatic gearbox, comes straight from the Mercedes-Benz C32 AMG.

The seats had to move back seven centimeters, the dashboard had to be extended accordingly. A specially designed cardan shaft bridges the path from the transmission output to the control axle from the C-Class. The HWA A32 Mercedes A-Class is rear-wheel drive, and thus the A32 is free from all traction problems that the weaker series models have to deal with. The power dwarf sets smoke signals only when the slip control is deactivated, and then there is truly fire under the roof. The measuring device signals the A32 needs only 5.1 seconds to get from standstill to 100 km / h.

Chassis and brakes from the C32 AMG
In terms of chassis technology, handling the brute power is easier than it sounds. In bends the HWA A32 Mercedes A-Class is as neutral as Switzerland, and the brakes grip mercilessly and without fading even under extreme stress. With the ESP switched off, experts can drift on the racetrack until they run out of fuel, and even the suspension comfort is impressive. The little HWA A32 Mercedes A-Class stumbles a little at low speed, but when driving fast, the coil springs absorb bumps in a way that drivers of normal A-Class models can only dream of.

CONCLUSION
The HWA A32 Mercedes A-Class is a masterpiece in terms of craftsmanship, because nothing seems improvised. Quality and security take priority for HWA. This is demonstrated not least by a small red button on the center console. The HWA men warned that you shouldn’t try it out. Otherwise the engine compartment, which is already packed, would be filled with the foam from the fire extinguishing system installed there.

Source: Auto-motor-und-sport.de