The hot variant of the GLA range has arrived and will make its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week.

The new Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 S gets the same 415 hp (310 kW) 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine as the A 45 S. It also gets the same eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and 4MATIC four-wheel drive too, with torque control across the rear axle to help with cornering and acceleration. The car can sprint to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.4 seconds making it half a second slower than the A 45 S.

The usual driving modes will be available but the full-on drift mode from the A 45 S will be replaced with a new Master setting that enables “slight oversteer”.

The car will continue to be pitched slightly above the equivalent A-Class, so expect prices to start at around R 1million.