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You know how sometimes you're just not in the mood for an all-out beer? Once and a while it's oh-kay to opt for a light beer. The same can be applied to the automotive industry's sports cars.

When you get to the luxury space, sometimes it's a fine line between a perfectly suitable auto and one that's riding too harshly and is a bit rough on your kidneys. For the buyers that want all the comforts of a standard model and a taste of sportiness, it seems that a new movement is addressing these concerns.

While Audi's S-Line remains mostly cosmetic, BMW's M Performance vehicles are an interesting mix of performance upgrades and cosmetic touches. It seems Mercedes-AMG will be following BMW by producing what it is calling AMG Sport models.

These AMG Sport models will slot in between the standard autos equipped with AMG packages and the real deal AMG-developed vehicles. We're not sure ENTIRELY what this means yet, but Mercedes-Benz has assured us in the press release below that we'll see not one, but TWO, AMG Sport models at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS).

Color us interested, Mercedes.


Mercedes-Benz's press release follows:

MERCEDES-AMG UPS THE ANTE


- Growth strategy aimed at new market segments
- Doubling of global sales targeted by 2017
- Premiere of the new AMG Sport models at the North American International Motor Show in Detroit

Affalterbach - The sports car and high-performance brand Mercedes-AMG will achieve a new sales record of well over 40,000 units globally this year. Its entry into the compact segment and the broadening of its product range have provided the Affalterbach-based company with access to new customer groups and secured success in established and new markets. New models developed entirely in-house, such as the SLS AMG and, more recently, the Mercedes-AMG GT, consolidate the brand's success story and place it firmly on course for sustained growth.

"We are proud of these successes, as they provide the basis for the next stage of our growth strategy, which we are now launching," explains Tobias Moers, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH. "In the next three years we aim to more than double our total sales for 2013."

To render the AMG brand and its technology more accessible, Mercedes-AMG is establishing a new product line by the name of "AMG Sport", offering enhanced performance and technical refinements. The AMG Sport models will fill the gap between the AMG Sports package for Mercedes-Benz vehicles and the classic AMG models, thereby underpinning the brand's growth strategy on a sustained basis.

Opening up new customer groups and segments will raise the company's profile and boost AMG's sales potential worldwide. "The new Sport models represent a convincing proposition for our customers: genuine sports car technology becomes accessible, appealing to an even broader-ranging clientele worldwide," observes Tobias Moers. "For all our dynamic growth, we remain true to our brand claim of "Driving Performance"."

The AMG Sport models bear out the high-performance brand's claim with uprated engine output, all-wheel drive as standard in selected markets and special chassis components and brake systems from the classic AMG models. Signature AMG driving dynamics and a highly emotional driving experience are the tangible outcome for the customer. The first two AMG Sport models are set to be unveiled at the International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2015. It is planned to add further models to this new product line in due course.

The Affalterbach-based sports car brand has set itself high aims not only with regard to customer enthusiasm and growth: the fleet consumption has been reduced by 35 per cent by means of a comprehensive range of technical measures carried out in the past five years as part of the "AMG Green Performance Strategy". The AMG models are already among the most fuel-efficient and low-emission vehicles in their respective segments, with the new engine technologies and all-embracing lightweight design set to render them yet more efficient. The introduction of the Sport models in 2015 will make an additional significant contribution towards lowering the fuel consumption of the AMG fleet. The company headquarters in Affalterbach and the logistics organisation are also all set for sustained growth and represent the benchmark in efficiency, flexibility and environment-friendliness. The company has received recognition from the "German Sustainable Building Council", for example, and is the winner of the "Deutscher Logistik-Preis 2014" from the BVL Global Supply Chain Network for both its environment-friendliness and its supply chain strategy.




DETROIT AUTO SHOW: OFFICIAL! Mercedes-AMG Aims To Take ON Audi's S-Line And BMW's M Performance Models

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