When Good Isn’t Enough: 45 Years of AMG

Childbirth is a painful thing. Mother screams, child cries, various fluids splash onto the cold floor of a sterile hospital room. Yet, through this (un)natural sequence of events, life and beauty spring forth. Mother heals, child grows strong and healthy, and the once separate genetics of a loving couple are combined into a new generation.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of a different, but equally compelling birth — the inception of AMG, which today operates as the performance arm of Mercedes-Benz, specializing in outfitting select models with more aggressive looks, higher performance, better handling/stability, and copious amounts of carbon fiber. The genetics in this story stem from Hans-Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher – two motorsport visionaries with an unbroken entrepreneurial spirit and a dream to define the future of racing.

Recently, we had the great fortune of visiting the humble home of the all-grown-up family of AMGs in Affalterbach, Germany to meet some of the newest family members including a sneak peak at the A45 AMG, and watch the unveiling of the AMG SLS GT.

Read how this 45th Anniversary played out and peruse our photo essay after the jump.