AMG Before the Merger
AMG has been responsible for Mercedes-Benz’s factory high-performance cars for over 30 years now. The two companies signed a co-op agreement in 1990, with the first jointly-developed model being the W202 C36 AMG being presented in 1993. From there, the partnership became a majority stake, and eventually, a full merger.
But before all of that happened, AMG was an independent shop building fast Benzes much like how Alpina was with BMWs. Even before the co-op and merger, the company had built legendary cars such as the 560 SEC AMG Widebody, 190E 3.2 AMG, the 300 SEL 6.8 AMG race car, and the car simply known as The Hammer.
Mercedes-Benz
Meanwhile, at HWA
HWA has long been associated with Mercedes-Benz and AMG. Indeed, one of its co-founders is none other than Hans Werner Aufrecht, the A in AMG. It was created as a spin-off racing division of the brand, and one can say it’s close to being a works operation in several racing categories.
Established in 1998, HWA is more than a race team. It also does high-performance motorsport engineering, race car development, and low-volume sports cars. Its most recent creation is the HWA Evo, a fully reimagined and modernized version of the 190E 2.5-16 Evo II that ruled DTM and several other racing leagues.
The HWA Evo recently embarked on the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, taking second and third in class with all three entries going the distance. If anything, it proves that HWA is no mere restomodder, as the cars can talk the talk and walk the walk.
HWA
…And For its Next Trick
The company has proven that it can build truly reliable (and robust) bespoke cars with the Evo. However, HWA’s exploits in building highly specialized road cars won’t be a one-and-done deal, as shown by its most recent teaser.
HWA isn’t revealing much right now, and it won’t even give a peep of its name. That said, if anyone’s familiar with classic Benzes, the outline of the car shown in the teaser might look familiar. In our eyes at least, the silhouette resembles that of a W124, the midsize model that would eventually be called the E-Class.
But this is HWA we’re talking about here. Given that it turned the 190E into a modern track weapon that can be driven on the streets, we’re inclined to believe that it will soon build a modern-day interpretation of the AMG Hammer. Of course, it’s not official yet, and we’ll have to wait for the reveal to confirm it.
High Expectations
If it’s the AMG Hammer reimagined, we have pretty high expectations. Besides, HWA set the bar pretty high with the Evo. The original Hammer dropped in 1986, and it was a Series 124 Mercedes that had a highly tuned 5.6-liter V8 from the 560 SEL. The result of that was 355 hp and 388 lb-ft of torque, figures previously unheard of in a midsize German car.
AMG then upped the ante in 1988 by upsizing the engine to 6.0 liters. The larger displacement meant 385 hp and 420 lb-ft, effectively setting the blueprint for future E-Class-based AMG models. Sure, those numbers don’t sound like much in today’s realm of performance sedans, but they were groundbreaking at the time and more than enough to shock supercars from the same era.
With that, we’re expecting supercar performance from the supposed modern-day Hammer by HWA. But instead of scaring Countaches and Testarossas, it should be able to chase Revueltos and 849 Testarossas.
HWA/Instagram
Mercedes-Benz
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