Electric Gullwing: Mercedes Previews a Shockingly Awesome Sports Car

Mercedes-Benz's AMG division is best known as a builder of German muscle cars, but can an all-electric prototype give its image a fresh shade of green?

By Mike Spinelli Posted 07.16.2009 at 10:15 am 3 Comments

Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing Electric Drive Mercedes-Benz and its high-performance specialist division AMG offered a first look at a prototype all-electric sports car, the SLS AMG "electric drive" is powered by four in-wheel electric motors providing 526 horsepower and maximum torque of 649 lb-ft. A liquid-cooled 48 kWh, 400-volt lithium-ion battery provides the juice. Mercedes-Benz

After a week of rumor-mill musings online, Mercedes-Benz and its high-performance specialist division AMG offered a first look at a prototype all-electric sports car. And by "first look" we mean "better use your imagination." The company released some details on a version of its upcoming SLS AMG roadster with an electric drive system. Propelling the concept car are four in-wheel electric motors providing 526 horsepower and a maximum torque of 649 lb-ft. That means, when the SLS AMG electric hits the streets -- rumored to happen in 2015 -- it'll likely be quite a performer.

Why the in-wheel motors instead of wheel-hub electric motors, as in some prototypes? Mercedes says it's all about reducing unsprung mass. The company says it's also engineered the car to have the same low center of gravity and balanced weight distribution as the gasoline-powered model. Also, a software-controlled all-wheel-drive system, dubbed AMG eDrive, micromanages torque delivery down to the individual wheel. The first prototype will get a liquid-cooled 48 kWh, 400-volt lithium-ion battery that can be charged by a plug-in system as well as regenerative braking. More details to be announced.

Aside from the technology play, the announcement is also likely calculated to attract attention to the company's gorgeous new SLS AMG sports car, set for a debut later this year. Not that the SLS needs gimmickry to win it coverage: Photos of the upcoming, high-end homage to the classic 300SL "gullwing" Mercedes of the 1950s leaked to German car magazine AutoBild earlier this week. Autobild says the SLS will get a 6.2-liter V8 engine producing 571 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque, able to launch it from zero to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.8 seconds, and up to a top speed of 196 mph. More details will likely be revealed when the SLS AMG is unveiled later this year.

[Mercedes-Benz, via World Car Fans]

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3 Comments

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billdale

from Los Angeles, CA

07/19/09 at 6:49 pm

Mercedes: Kudos!!! BMW beat you to the punch with their Mini-e, but your package may have more general appeal even if it will be out of the price range for most people.

It's apparent that everyone-- or nearly everyone-- is on the electric-powered bandwagon now, since VW recently announced a new vigorous EV program, only months after saying they would have no interest in producing EVs, probably because they were trying to promote a diesel.

Just this week I finished converting a BMW coupe to full electric, and I did a short video of it that I'll be posting on YouTube, so I understand the massive torque and horsepower EVs can have.

Once it's repainted, reupholstered and had all its bells and whistles installed, I plan to spend a major part of my time as a benevolent virus-- I will let everyone I know drive it, maybe even borrow it for a few days to understand what it means to never have to go to a gas station again, let them see how quiet and powerful they are, and unburden them of any misunderstandings they have about EVs.

When they have been "infected" with EV Know, no one can ever confuse them with misinformation from oil companies or anyone else with a vested interest in retarding the growth of the EV market.

Note: MB is not talking about a plug-in like the Volt... the Volt is "nice", or nearly so, but it's still no EV-1-- it's extremely complex, even more complex than the gas guzzlers it's purporting to replace since it has not only an engine, but all the hardware of an EV too. The honest-to-gosh EV MB is talking about has no engine, transmission, drive shaft, differential or differential-to-wheel axles-- the only moving parts in the entire system are the wheels themselves, drastically reducing rotational inertia that must be overcome when in hard acceleration. Their car will be extremely efficient, and by the time it is on the road, you can be sure there will be lots of fast-charge charging stations to handle all the EVs from all manufacturers-- SAE just recently established a standard for all charging connections, so there won't be dozens of different plugs and paddles and other interfaces to for drivers to deal with-- no Beta vs. VHS confusions.

Yes, the Volt is okay, but GM needs to get serious about its program-- anybody that understands the subtle but highly important differences between the Volt and a true EV will give a polite and respectful nod to the Volt, then walk over to any of the other nearby dealers selling true EVs, and buy one of them instead.

Again, kudos to you MB, and thank you.

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