Steve McQueen's Cars

AMG

Aufrecht Melcher Großaspach is not a name that many people are familiar with. You might well recognise the initials though. AMG was founded by former Mercedes engineers Hans Werner Aufrech and Erhard Melcher in the small town of Großaspach, near Stuttgard, in 1967.

The company produced a range of upgrade packages and accessories for the Mercedes W107, W126 and W206. Initially they offered unofficial parts, but there were official tie ups with Mercedes in the mid 80's beginning with AMG supplying wheels and bodykits. Other upgrades available from AMG included Recaro seats, AMG 'Penta' 5 spoke wheels, smaller diameter steering wheel, lowered and stiffened suspension, AMG air dams and spoilers, modified exhausts and modified camshafts. One distinctive feature of the early AMG cars was that they were often 'shadowlined' - the chrome painted black or body coloured.

In 1986 AMG produced the 'Hammer' saloon. This was an AMG modified Mercedes W124 saloon. AMG replaced the standard engine with a modified 5.6 litre, twin cam, 36 valve V8 from a Mercedes 560SEC. The finished car was reputed to have a faster 0-60 time than a Lamborghini Countach and was a key factor in encouraging closer ties between Mercedes and AMG.

In 1990, AMG and Daimler-Benz were officially united. AMG modified cars were now able to be sold and serviced by the Mercedes dealer network. The AMG C36 was the first car to come out of the partnership and was sold side by side with standard Mercedes production models. Just one year later Daimler AG cemented their connection with AMG by becoming a majority shareholder. Hans Werner Aufrecht remained a shareholder in the company until he sold his remaining shares in 2005, when AMG became incorporated into DaimlerCrysler AG.

In the early 2000's AMG focused on supercharged engines but in 2006 the company announced a change to using turbochargers to achieve higher power outputs. More recently, Volker Mornhinweg, head of AMG, announced 'the horsepower wars are over' and stated that, in the future, AMG will concentrate on improving engine and transmission efficiency and reducing curb weight to increase performance.