The Mercedes-AMG A 35 has been teased ahead of its offical debut, with the cut-price hot hatch set for a Paris Motor Show unveiling.
What can we learn from the new pictures? Um... that is comes in yellow?
Happily, though, there is much we already know about the Golf R-rivalling AMG, which will surely be the cheapest performance Mercedes ever produced.
AMG boss Tobias Moers confirmed last year that a new A 35 variant was on its way, to sit beneath an updated A45 AMG. And international reports suggest a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine will produce around 225kW - about on-par with the 228kW (only 213kW in Australia) of the Volkswagen Golf R.
Moers has promised that, despite being the cheapest way into an AMG, the A 35 will receive the full-blown performance treatment.
“It’s still a part of AMG. I strictly believe in product, and they have to be aligned in our brand approach," Moers said at the time. “And this counts for an A 35 as well. It's very, very important, otherwise you're going to dilute the brand. Just putting a badge on the trunk would be easily done, and maybe it works quite well for a year or two, but then you're just going to dilute the brand and we’re never going to do that.
“So even for an A 35 there is a lot of effort. We run the whole chassis program as we do for a performance car, so everything is the same. “
The full details are yet to be revealed, but expect to see the Mercedes-AMG A35 unveiled in Paris ahead of a 2019 on-sale date.
Can the A 35 be considered a true AMG? Tell us in the comments below.
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold.
But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul.
And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard.
When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House.
But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others.
More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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