AMG Ballade: Performance Honda Civic You Never Heard of Built by AMG
Offered only in South Africa, the AMG Ballade is a performance car that neither Honda nor Mercedes wants to acknowledge.
Do you think that all of the hot Honda performance models carry a Type R designation? Well, think again. What you are seeing here is a Honda AMG Ballade. Yes, THAT AMG. The car was a collaboration between Honda and Mercedes-AMG. It was built specifically for the South African market. You probably never heard of it. And both Honda and Mercedes are just fine with that. The car came about in the 1980s. It was before AMG was officially part of Mercedes. And at the time AMG was working their tuning magic on a couple Japanese cars. It is a period that AMG would now like to forget. And Honda is not too keen to speak of it either. As such, information on the AMG Ballade is scarce. But the car is real. This not a case of a kid just slapping random car badges on the trunk.
A video was posted recently on the Chris VS Cars YouTube channel. In this video we learn a bit about this little-known AMG Ballade and how it came about. However, as we said there are not a ton of details. Neither company is quick to confirm how many of these cars were made. But we do know that production ended in 2001. So, even the newest AMG Ballade is now over 20 years old. Let’s take a closer look at one of the most obscure Honda performance cars ever made.
Why?
Why the heck would Mercedes and AMG collaborate with Honda? They have certainly not been friends on the Formula One circuit. But at the time Honda wanted to enter the South African market. And they were not established in that country. Mercedes on the other hand had been there since 1948 and they had production facilities there. Mercedes may have been established but they wanted to sell a smaller and more affordable model in South America. So, a collaboration between the two brands made sense for each. Honda got a foot in the market and Mercedes got the less expensive model they wanted.
AMG Ballade
AMG Ballade cars were four-door Civics that used B16 and B18 Honda engines. The engines were tuned to make 173 horsepower. A stout number for the time. The cars sat on a lowered Eibach suspension. And they were fitted with 15-inch or 16-inch wheels as well as a rear spoiler. We don’t know the original price or have any performance details. But these cars did really exist. If you are a fan of obscure Hondas then you might want to try to find one of these for yourself.
Recent History
In 1999 DaimlerChrysler AG purchased a majority stake AMG, and in 2005 DaimlerChrysler AG acquired 100 percent of the shares. Mercedes-AMG was born. As such, the chances of AMG touching another Honda car ever again are basically nil. In 1992 Honda released the NSX Type R. The first car to get the Type R treatment. In 1997 the first Honda Civic Type R was released. And as you know the Type R has been the mark of Honda performance since. Now with both Mercedes and Honda having their own well-known performance models it is highly unlikely we will ever see a collaboration like the AMG Ballade again.
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