New Mercedes-AMG A45 to top 300kW

If you think the current 280kW Mercedes-AMG A 45 hot hatch is an animal, well just wait until the next one rolls out.

That's the message from Mercedes-AMG chairman Tobias Moers, who confirmed to Australian media at the Geneva motor show the 2019 second-generation A 45 would top 300kW from an all-new 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine.

"The A 45 that's coming, I think it's going to be the benchmark in that segment, this for us is the task," Moers said of the hero model in the new-gen A-Class line-up.

"It's going to be 400-plus horsepower [298kW-plus]," he added.

That's bad news for the 272kW BMW M2 Coupe and even the 294kW Audi RS 3 hatch and sedan.

"What we are doing for the next generation is we're engineering a brand-new engine, a 2.0-litre engine that is everything new -- nothing in common with the [existing engine]," Moers said.

"We're developing a brand-new 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine that is capable of 400-plus horsepower. But that doesn't make sense unless you have driving dynamics equal -- I'm not a fan of over-powered cars."

The second A 45 will be based on the fourth-generation A-Class hatch (pictured) revealed at Geneva.

Perhaps surprisingly Moers ruled out any form of EQ Boost mild-hybrid assistance for the next A 45, even though such a system would potentially aid tip-in throttle response and aid fuel economy.

To ensure the balance is right, Moers revealed a new all-wheel drive system was also being developed to go with the hyped-up hot hatch.

"Power output is nothing without the driving dynamics which is able to follow the power output," he said.

He became coy when asked if the system could include drift mood like the E 63 S 4MATIC.

"Don't know," he said.

He probably does.