According to AMG managing director Volker Mornhinweg, talking for GoAuto, a full-production version of the electric supercar will be made available sometime in 2013. And Mornhinweg knows what he is talking about, having already driven the prototypes.
“I can tell you that it is an amazing kind of experience. Therefore we are on the way to transport the same emotion as you can have with the combustion engine. I can tell you there is a sound; it is not the same as a V8."
Mercedes' electric sports car will be powered by four electric motors, which threaten to usher a new era in electric vehicles' history: a combined peak output of 392 kW (525 hp) and a maximum torque of 880 Nm. The estimated range of the vehicle is 180 km (112 miles).
The four electric motors are positioned near the wheels, reducing the unsprung masses compared to wheel-hub motors. The test SLS AMG with electric drive incorporates a liquid-cooled high-voltage lithium-ion battery with an energy content of 48 kWh and a capacity of 40 Ah. The 400-volt battery is charged by using brake energy regeneration.
Mornhinweg said AMG chose the SLS for the conversion because the car is easier to mold into an EV.
“This concept is perfect for e-drive because we can take a combustion engine and transaxle and make no changes to the body in white, and we can put in two motors with the gearbox in the rear, two motors and the gearbox in the front and we can take the centre console as a battery place, it looks like a T and it is perfect,”
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