Nowadays AMG is a synonym for the fastest and most prestigious Mercedes-Benz vehicles. The vehicles decorated with the famous emblem can offer a fascinating cocktail of power and luxury. It is unlikely that the founders of the brand could have foreseen the progression of the story they started.
Nowadays AMG is a synonym for the fastest and most prestigious Mercedes-Benz vehicles. The vehicles decorated with the famous emblem can offer a fascinating cocktail of power and luxury. It is unlikely that the founders of the brand could have foreseen the progression of the story they started.
In 2017, the Mercedes-Benz Special Vehicle Department will celebrate its 50th anniversary, and it already seems certain that a special record of operation will be registered in the annals of the company. Looking back at the beginning, we can remind ourselves once again how unpredictable life can be.
Special engines from a private garage
Let’s get acquainted with Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher! These gentlemen in the Mercedes-Benz Development Department in the first half of the 1960s were engaged in improving the 300 SE race engine. Despite the fact that Mercedes-Benz decided to discontinue all motorsports activities, both engineers decided to continue work during their spare time in Aufrecht's house in Grossaspach. The famous initials AMG came from both last names and a name of the town.
In 1965, Manfred Schiek, a colleague of Aufrecht and Melcher from Daimler, participated in the German Touring Car Championship with a car using the engine developed by the engineers and won ten times! Schiek’s triumph was mostly based on the ability of Aufrecht and Melcher to optimise the performance of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
It was, however, not enough for the ambitions of Hans Aufrecht. At the end of 1966, he left Mercedes-Benz and, in 1967, persuaded his colleague to follow him and establish a joint business with the name Aufrecht Melcher Großaspach Ingenieurbüro, Konstruktion und Versuch zur Entwicklung von Rennmotoren. The headquarters of the newly established company were located at a former mill in the neighbouring city of Burgstall.
Aufrect and Melcher achieved their first notable international success during the 24 hours of Spa in 1971. The AMG Mercedes 300 SEL 6.8 was a leader in its class and won second place overall. It became a sensation - a large luxury class sedan had overpowered a race car! AMG became famous throughout the world.
Expanding upon excellence
In the 1970s, demand for reconstruction of the vehicles grew, and it allowed AMG to grow into a medium-sized company. In 1976, a dozen employees moved to a specially built workshop and office in Affalterbach.
AMG became a manufacturer of engines in 1984 due to an innovation (Melcher developed an independent cylinder head with four valves per cylinder). In 1986, AMG implanted the 5.0-litre V8 in Mercedes-Benz E-class coupe, which became famous worldwide with its nickname “The Hammer”.
At the end of the 1980s, Daimler-Benz and AMG started cooperation in the sports field – AMG received the status of Daimler’s official racing partner. A result of this cooperation was the 190th model prepared by AMG, winning a total of 50 victories in the DTM championship between 1988 and 1993.
Joining the Family
Another milestone in the operation of the company was reached in 1990 when a cooperation agreement with Daimler-Benz AG was signed. It provided new opportunities as AMG products could now be sold in the Mercedes-Benz network worldwide. The number of AMG employees reached four hundred. In 1993, the company unveiled the Mercedes-Benz C 36 AMG, the first street vehicle designed jointly by both partners, while AMG became a registered trademark.
On 1 January 1999, Hans Aufrecht transferred his majority interest of the company to DaimlerChysler AG but, six years later, DaimlerChysler became the sole owner of AMG. It gave the newly founded Mercedes-AMG GmbH the opportunity to benefit from operating in the international market.
Which AMG would you prefer?
More than 1100 specialists are currently employed by the Mercedes-AMG factory, and each new model, in accordance with the AMG Performance 50 strategy, is designed to become a market leader of its class in terms of fuel consumption and emissions.
The range of AMG models is truly impressive: it contains more than twenty vehicles - sedans, coupés, roadsters and SUVs with a power range from 270 kW (367 HP) to 463 kW (630 HP). Such diversity provides an opportunity of offering the vehicles for every taste. Separate attention should be paid to the SLS AMG model - the first vehicle designed independently by Mercedes-AMG which has been replaced by the current Mercedes-AMG GT.
Each AMG model is a comprehensive performance vehicle with a powerful heavy duty engine, fascinating sound, excellent manageability and fantastic driving sensation. It is supplemented by exclusivity and top quality.
Of course, it’s very difficult to think of AMG nowadays without considering its participation in motorsports. The MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS team became the Formula 1 champions in 2014 and 2015. The fastest DTM pilot last year steered Mercedes while the GT model is ready for challenges in the GT3 class competition.
