The world of hot hatches is brimming with sharp-looking, go-fast pocket rockets but as of 2019, there’s one that rules them all. Enter the Mercedes-AMG A45.

Unveiled in the summer of 2019, the Mercedes-AMG A45 introduced the world’s most powerful 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Under the hood of the top-spec S model, the M139 mill cranks out 310 kW (415 horsepower, 412 PS) and 500 Newton-meters of twist or around 369 pound-feet of torque. These guys, though, can consideraby improve on those numbers by just tweaking the car’s software.

How much power can RaceChip pump in the AMG A45?

Mercedes-AMG really outdone itself with the A45. Affalterbach’s decision to go all-out on the hot hatch shows just to how great an extent the horsepower war has managed to suck in almost every big name carmaker out there. And yes, the Merc-AMG A45 is the hot hatch to beat right now.

However, until BMW or Audi prepare their counterattacks, those owning or looking to buy an AMG A45 should know that its insane levels of power can be pushed even further.

This is where RaceChip comes to play. Started back in 2008 by Manuel Götz, the tuner was initially headquartered in Holzmaden, near Stuttgart, but as business grew, it became a notable presence in markets around the world, with appearances at SEMA. Twelve years later, the company is still guided by a straightforward motto: simply faster.

Coming back to the tuning kit developed by RaceChip for the A45, you’ll want to know it takes the M139 engine to 484 horsepower and 540 Newton-meters (399 pound-feet) of torque. That’s an increase of 69 horsepower and 40 Newton-meters (30 pound-feet) of twist.

To test their work, the guys over at RaceChip put the car on a dyno, and measurements showed that only 400 horsepower actually reach the wheels, which means the rest is lost throughout the driveline. They even take the car out on the Autobahn to see how quickly it can sprint from a rolling start.

We’ll let you discover that, not before telling you that RaceChip will charge €699 ($751) for this upgrade. Sure, it’s not as wild as what other tuners can extract from the M139 mill (we’ve seen Renntech up the ante with 592 horsepower) but given the decent price tag, we’re guessing this is not a bad deal at all.