The SLS Electric Drive is one of the biggest mysteries of the auto industry. As some of you might remember, it was officially announced for production in 2013. The Germans took their rear-wheel drive AMG flagship and turned it into an all-wheel drive electric car, which coincidently had more power than any of the V8s or V12s they made.
How much horsepower? Supposedly, 750 of it, more than most supercars. That's why people called it the world's first electric supercar. It was even made into the highlight of a whole Top Gear episode, but it might have gotten lost along the way.
Between the media event in September 2013 and now, we haven't actually seen any being delivered. There are no silent SLS coupes in any rap videos and supercar spotters never got the chance to make fun of the lack of exhaust sound. This is especially troubling if we consider that the new Mercedes-AMG GT is about to take over.
At least one SLS Electric Drive does exist, the one from this video. Youtuber SuperCarsAllDay filmed it on what looks like a backroad in Spain, parked in the company of an S-Class Coupe and VW Polo. Sadly, we'd think this is a customer car, since Mercedes keeps a permanent presence of press cars in Spain. But it does give us hope that deliveries will eventually take place.
This can somehow be connected to... Nokia
It's probably kind of ironic to hear a car website that's usually obsessed with Lambos and Ferraris ask about the whereabouts of an EV they like. The best analogy for electric cars is the smartphone. When they came out, most people said "cool idea, but that will never work" and they had the same issues with them, regarding battery life and use.
Nokia, who at the time were the world's largest phone makers, refused to start smartphone development as they didn't think it would catch on. Now, out of 4.55 billion phone users, over a third have at least one smartphone and Nokia is in all sorts of trouble. So ignore EVs at your own risk!
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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