After the Frankfurt Motor Show, we were bumming around downtown when we got pulled into an alley, blindfolded, and bundled into a premium-feeling SUV that smelled distinctly like a Mercedes. We were driven to what ended up being the riverside suburb of Mainz, where we were hauled from the SUV and had our sight restored. In the hard light, we saw a row of perhaps a dozen C-class-sized AMG models. The pumped fenders, twin-bulge engine lid, surgical-quality eighteen-inch wheels, and race-inspired breathing gills gave away the place of manufacture before we saw the AMG badge.

(Note: WINDING ROAD is now open to read, with no registration required)

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