A Few Minutes with Mercedes AMG Chief Ola Kaellenius
Performance Division's Boss Talks Future
From the July, 2011 issue of Motor Trend
/ By Motor Trend Editors
Will you base a car on this A-Class Concept?
"That car screams sportiness, whereas we haven't made an official commitment or final decision, it's something we're looking at very carefully. So it's potentially expanding the lineup also below the current entry point, which is the C-Class."
How would you deal with torque steer?
"If we would go into this segment, I can't give you technical details or how we would handle it. I can assure you of one thing. It would be done right, and it would be an AMG experience. We would not accept a car with an inferior chassis. We'd take that beautiful thing and move it around the track in an interesting way."
How are you dealing with U.S. CAFE and European CO2 standards?
"We put together a strategy in 2008 we call Performance 2015. And AMG set a very special goal. We want to reduce our CO2 30 percent by 2012 and another 20 percent by 2015. It is our ambition to achieve best-in-class efficiency in the segments where we compete. We demonstrate that very powerfully, for instance in the CLS (63 AMG with the 5.5 biturbo) with 550 horsepower, and at the same time, combined, more than 23 miles per gallon. It's an absolute benchmark position. The E-Class will be the next in that line; the S-Class has the same position. That's what we're doing. So you can take a rear-drive car, and make huge steps."
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