It’s got a starlight headliner, but it’s not a Rolls-Royce. It sports the utmost luxury, but it’s not a Maybach. It looks sporty and aggressive, but it’s not a Lamborghini. Stop guessing. It’s the Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 S.
Carcraft from Switzerland simply transformed the sports compact car. The four-door coupe may still be recognizable by the sleek shape of the body that was once the most aerodynamic in its segment. But there’s not much left of the standard CLA 45 S.
A dual-layer 3D wrap now dresses up the model. The vertical slats of the Panamericana grille are in carbon fiber. Two of them, in red, support the Carcraft lettering on the side. Meanwhile, the company’s logo replaces the three-pointed star at the center of the grille.
The front diffuser is also in gloss black and so is the lower area of the front bumper.
At the opposite end, there is the Akrapovic exhaust, integrated into a carbon fiber air diffuser, below a massive wing in the same material. And there’s plenty of carbon fiber in between. It’s in the side skirts and in the mirror caps, highlighting the personality of the sports car. Multi-spoke 21-inch Vossen wheels round up the side design, matching the diagonal stripes on the doors.
Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 S comes with plenty of carbon fiber and Alcantara on board
Pop the door open and there’s little to remind you of a stock Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 S. The steering wheel sports Alcantara, carbon fiber, and perforated Nappa leather in the grip area. And it still keeps the 12 o’clock mark in red. The door displays an Alcantara honeycomb pattern with contrasting red topstitching. Same contrasts are everywhere on board. Once you press the engine start button, the headliner lights up with the stars effect that you would usually get to see in a Rolls-Royce.
But there’s some other attention-grabber once you start that engine. The Akrapovic exhaust howls and growls from the rear. There’s no way you’ll get to keep a low profile in this CLA. So maybe that much attention is included in the price.
A price that is far from any possible guess. This car is for sale for $300,000. That’s as much as you would pay for a Mercedes-Maybach S-Class and you’d still have enough money to buy a standard S-Class as a backup.
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