As Mercedes gets ready to shift to the electrified third generation of the CLA, the company is giving the previous generation one last send-off. The Mercedes-AMG CLA45 S Final Edition will be the swan song of the brand's current entry-level sedan, exclusively available in America in early 2026. This will be a limited-production run, so if you want one, grab one while you can.
So what's so ultimate about this ultimate version? For one thing, the engine is cranked up from 416 horsepower to a truly incredible... uh, 416 horsepower. Sure, it's got the same powertrain as a normal AMG CLA45 S under the hood, but that's not a bad thing. Each turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 is hand-built by a single person at AMG's plant in Affalterbach, and it gives the CLA45 S a 0-to-60-mph time of 4.0 seconds and a limited top speed of 155 mph.
The Final Edition is mostly an aesthetic offering, going out of its way to make sure you know exactly what it is that you're driving. It comes in a wide variety of colors, and by "wide variety," I mean Manufaktur Mountain Grey Magno and literally nothing else. Yellow and black accents complement it throughout, including matte black 19-inch forged wheels, yellow stitching across the interior, and of course, the giant black and yellow "45 S" graphic painted on the doors —just in case you forgot what car you bought.
The Final Edition gets a bunch of the CLA's optional extras as standard, like the Night Package Plus that adds gloss black and dark chrome touches to the exterior, and the AMG Aerodynamics Package Plus, which gives you an enlarged front splitter, a gloss black rear spoiler, and a gloss black diffuser blade, among other elements. Don't forget about the performance seats, too.
This is essentially an "all the bells and whistles" version of the CLA, with unique design flourishes and "45 S" featured everywhere, including a "45 S Final Edition" badge right on the center console. No word yet on what the price will be, but for reference, speccing out a similar car right now will cost you north of $80,000.
This will be the last dance of the fully internal combustion CLA, as the upcoming third-gen will only come in EV or hybrid variants, and the AMG models will be fully electric. Mercedes is looking towards the future there; it's not wrong that it would want to take one final look at the past before it does.