Another camouflaged version of Mercedes-Benz’s upcoming CLA 45 AMG sports saloon has entered the field of our spy photographer’s lens.

You can think of the CLA 45 AMG as the poor man’s (or so to speak) CLS 63 AMG, as it will offer respectable performance in a smaller package and at a much lower price. In fact, it will be the cheapest AMG offering for North American buyers (Europeans will also have the option of the lower-priced A 45 AMG).

Visual cues that stand out on this prototype are the bigger alloy wheels that make space for the performance braking system with large discs, the modified front bumper, the side skirts, a rear diffuser and the masked spoiler on the boot.

The flagship version of the CLA family, a regular model of which we recently spied without a speck of camouflage in Iceland, will sport a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine generating 330hp (335PS) and more than 295lb ft (400Nm) of peak torque.

All that power will be transferred to an all-wheel drive system via an AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7-speed sports transmission featuring dual clutch technology.

Mercedes’ AMG division will also make sure that the chassis is up to the job by modifying the suspension, the steering and the electronic systems.

Look for the CLA 45 AMG to arrive in dealerships in early 2014.

Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoop

PHOTO GALLERY

Mercedes-CLA-45-AMG-Sedan-1Mercedes-CLA-45-AMG-Sedan-2Mercedes-CLA-45-AMG-Sedan-3Mercedes-CLA-45-AMG-Sedan-4Mercedes-CLA-45-AMG-Sedan-5Mercedes-CLA-45-AMG-Sedan-6Mercedes-CLA-45-AMG-Sedan-7Mercedes-CLA-45-AMG-Sedan-8Mercedes-CLA-45-AMG-Sedan-9