The good thing about hot hatchbacks is that nobody expects them to be restrained and dignified. So you can have them in extremely vibrant colors and even have writings down the sides, and it’ll still be cool. That is the kind of treatment German tuner MCCHIP-DKR has given to the new Mercedes A45 AMG.

This bad boy is one of the most serious of the hot hatches currently available, with a 360 hp and 450 nm turbocharged engine. Visually, though, it looks like a fun-loving little red dog. That juicy red color has a lot to with it, but it’s mainly due to the KV1 (concave version 1) wheels in size 8,5×19-inch wrapped with Dunlop Sport Maxx Race tires, and the KW Clubsport coilovers that lower the ride height.

It’s not all show, this Mercedes A45 AMG by MCCHIP-DKR. The meat of the program is an upgrade kit for the turbocharged engine which in three stages of tune delivers exciting levels of power.

MCCHIP, who as the name suggests is an expert in software optimization, starts with some light ECU tweak for the stage one and take the output to 400 hp and 535 Nm. Stage two adds some sports cats to the equation and boosts the power to 420 hp. And then in the full-fat stage three which includes a tricked turbocharger, you get 450 hp and 550 nm of torque.

That’s a lot of horses in a small little car like the A-Class. But as the old saying goes: more horsepower, more fun!