Mercedes-AMG : Race-Bred Performance – 9780760394458

Take a lap through the complete illustrated history of the powerful Mercedes-AMG, from the Red Pig racer to today’s 1063-plus horsepower Mercedes-AMG ONE. For decades Mercedes-Benz was known primarily as a builder of luxury sedans, grand touring coupes, and handsome roadsters. But racers like its 1950s Silver Arrows and the stunning 300SL were reminders that performance lurked in its DNA, never far below the surface.

Wanting to set that performance free, two former Mercedes-Benz engineers, Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher, teamed up in 1967 to focus on building M-B-based racing machines. Mercedes-AMG recounts the unlikely, amazing story of how they remade a stodgy Benz sedan into the all-conquering Red Pig racer and thus launched one of Germany’s greatest high-performance car companies: AMG. Considerable success in endurance and touring-class competition led AMG to a second business modifying production Mercedes-Benzes for enthusiast customers. By the 1980s, AMG was designing and building high-performance engine assemblies allowing them to modify M-B engines to previously unknown levels of performance.

Thus were born legendary cars like the AMG Hammer. Mercedes was well aware of AMG’s success, and in 1990 a formal arrangement was made between the two companies leading to jointly developed performance cars sold and serviced through M-B dealerships. In 2005, M-B purchased AMG outright, leading to the creation of Mercedes-AMG, the high-performance arm of the company.  Mercedes-AMG covers the full history of these German powerhouse cars, including:Early racing exploits in the 1960sThe iconic Hammer and Black Series carsToday’s exclusive, high-performance Mercedes-AMG models ranging from the 420hp A45 hatchback to the 680hp C63 station wagon to the outrageous 1063hp Mercedes-AMG ONEPrototypes, racing, and special models This beautifully illustrated volume belongs on every Mercedes enthusiast’s shelf.