Almost every automaker has a performance division with a special model designation. BMW has M, Audi has RS, Ford has ST, Hyundai has N and — of course — Mercedes-Benz has AMG. The brand has quite a unique history. From its founding in 1967 until it was brought in-house in 1999, AMG operated independently of Mercedes. It would take the cars Mercedes built and modify them to be faster, more powerful and sicker looking.
The origin of the acronym “AMG” is as simple and straightforward as anything else Germany does. A and M represent Aufrecht and Melcher, the two guys who founded the company. G stands for Großaspach, the German town where Aufrecht was born. Why Melcher’s birthplace didn’t get a shoutout is a mystery. Mercedes used to just add AMG on to the end of its performance models, but now it brands such cars as Mercedes-AMG instead of Mercedes-Benz to provide a bigger distinction, as with Mercedes-Maybach.
What AMG means today
Today, there are essentially three levels of AMG you can get on a Mercedes, though it’s actually only two. The first is AMG Line, which is just an appearance package that you can add to any Mercedes-Benz model to make it look at feel a bit sportier, but nothing really changes when it comes to performance. Sure, you get some nicer-looking wheels, revised front and rear fascias and a slightly reworked interior, but your little four-cylinder Mercedes isn’t going to be any faster.
At the top of the range, you’ve got full-fat AMG cars like the AMG CLA45, AMG C63, AMG E63 and AMG GLS63. Those cars all get extremely powerful and hand-built motors, retuned, sporty suspension, different interior trims, a more aggressive exterior look and massive price tags. These vehicles are comparable to BMW’s M cars and Audi’s RS cars.
In between these two levels, we find AMG 43 and AMG 53 models. These give you a lot of the same cosmetic and under-the-skin upgrades of the 63 models, but they’ve got smaller engines that aren’t as powerful. Still, models with AMG’s latest four-cylinder are handbuilt with the “one man – one engine” standard that higher-up AMG models get, so that’s neat. These are more in line with BMW’s M Sport vehicles like the M440i and X3 M50 and Audi’s S cars like the S6 and SQ5.
So, folks, that’s AMG. Now you can’t say you’ve got no idea what those three incredibly important letters stand for.
