JUST TWO DAYS AGO we brought you word that Mercedes-Benz was allegedly contemplating a battery-powered variant of the SLS AMG gullwing, but now the German automaker has not only confirmed the existence of the project, but released the first batch of technical details too.
The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG with electric drive will be powered by four electric motors, arranged in pairs with two motors driving either the front or rear axle via a common gearbox.
Mercedes deliberately avoided using in-hub motors in an effort to reduce the unsprung weight of each wheel assembly, thus preserving the handling characteristics of the petrol-powered SLS.
The combined power of all four motors is a mighty 392kW and 880Nm - not far off the V8-powered SLS AMG’s 420kW. Power is supplied by a 400-volt bank of lithium-ion batteries, which are also topped up during driving by a regenerative braking system.
The heavy battery pack and electric motors have been mounted as low and as close to the centre of the car as possibly, and weight distribution is still fairly even. Despite being a completely different powertrain, the addition of an electric drive system did not require any modifications to the SLS’s all-alloy chassis.
“With the SLS AMG with electric drive, we wanted to redefine the super sports car,” said Volker Mornhinweg, CEO of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.
“For us, it is not just about [environmental] responsibility.
“We attach just as much importance to excitement and classic AMG performance.”
An introduction date for the SLS AMG with electric drive has not been announced, however present speculation says to expect the all-electric supercar to make its debut sometime in 2015 - four years after the introduction of its petrol-powered sibling.
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Excellent
Sounds good! The 2015 part sounds not so good.
It isn’t an AMG if it doesn’t sound like an AMG. Gimme the fossil fuel burning option any day….don’t care if it’s slower.
The new motor design is pretty fascinating- but how much are over-expensive luxury cars really helping our economy, dependence on oil, health, national security, or environment? I’m more interested in car companies producing mid-priced 100% electric cars that normal people can afford. Electric cars are safe, clean, and efficient, but they can only make an impact if they are available to all. There WERE affordable electric cars over a decade ago (the RAV4-EV, and the GM EV 1) but they threatened the profits of oil companies, so chevron sued and had the cars crushed. To learn more about that and the history of the electric car, and the advantages of electric cars, check out twocentspermile.com and bit.ly/2centspermile