What We Know So Far About the First Purebred Electric Mercedes-AMG

The new model will get a highly advanced electric motor technology from the British firm Yasa, which was acquired by Mercedes-Benz back in July 2021. Mercedes will build the disc-shaped axial-flux motors at the Berlin plant in Germany. The units should get superior output and torque than the conventional radial-flux units.

The Mercedes Vision One-Eleven concept car, unveiled back in June, was powered by radial-flux motors, both of them placed on the rear axle in a rear-wheel drive setup.

This translates into a lower weight, smaller size, and better efficiency. A motor for one of the Mercedes production cars weighs just 24 kilograms (53 pounds) and generates 480 horsepower (487 PS) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of torque, said Yassa boss Tim Woolmer in a conversation with the British publication Autocar.

The car will be underpinned by the new AMG.EA platform, specifically designed for electric cars, and will arrive in 2025 as the brand’s most powerful production model. It might even come with figures above those of the ONE hypercar, powered by a 1.6-liter turbo engine integrated in a hybrid setup that also includes three electric motors for a total of 1,049 horsepower (1,063 PS) and 737 lb-ft (1,000 Nm) of torque.

But with all the sophisticated tech carried over from the Formula 1 racing cars, the ONE was five years in development, while engineers desperately tried to overcome every hurdle along the way and make the 275 customers that ordered one of the limited-run cars believe it was worth both the wait and the money. Each example started at $2.7 million before options and taxes.

"We must have been drunk when we greenlighted the ONE," said former AMG boss Tobias Moers. With the AMG executives drunk or sober, all the 275 units were sold out long before the car even entered production.

Right now, the most potent in the lineup below the ONE is the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance, the first AMG sporting electrification. The system delivers 831 horsepower (843 PS) and 1,047 lb-ft (1,420 Nm) of torque.

Mercedes has rolled out electric AMGs before, but none with a pedigree

Mercedes has already tested the waters with sedans such as the AMG EQE 53 and AMG EQS 53. The business sedan stops at 617 horsepower (626 PS) and 701 lb-ft (950 Nm) of torque, while the electric variant of the S-Class goes all the way to 751 horsepower (763 PS) and 752 lb-ft (1,020 Nm), which is enough to take on the Porsche Taycan Turbo S with 750 horsepower (761 PS) and 627 lb-ft (850 Nm).

The first all-electric purebred AMG, sitting on a specifically designed platform, is already in the development phase, and prototypes will soon show up in spy photos. With a presumed market launch slated for 2025, it is about time they hit the road.

Last year in May, Mercedes unveiled the four-door Vision AMG concept car, which is said to be the inspiration base in terms of design and proportions for the upcoming EV. The Vision AMG was the first to be built on the AMG.EA platform.

What we do know for sure about the upcoming high-performance EV is that it will have enough space for four adults and will come with all the practical features of a sedan, as well as "outstanding aerodynamics," as stated by the Mercedes design boss Robert Lesnik. The Mercedes EQS was the world’s most aerodynamic production car, with a drag coefficient of 0.20 until the Lucid Air arrived with 0.197.

The concept measured 5,100 millimeters (200.7 inches) in length and sported a wheelbase of 3,000 millimeters (118 inches), figures similar to those of the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 4-Door Coupe, which is 5,054 millimeters (199 inches) long and has a wheelbase of 2,951 millimeters (116 inches).

Lesnik disclosed several design cues of the upcoming AMG EV for Autocar. It will sport an illuminated grille that will show up not for functional reasons but in order to give the car anAMG-specific familiar face. That is where headlamps with a new star design will get most of the attention. The three-pointed star logo will be stenciled into the bonnet. The design chief says the model will sit closer than any other AMG.

What opponents will the electric Mercedes-AMG have to fight with for supremacy?

The segment of electric luxury sedans is getting crowded. The Tesla Model S Plaid started it, and other carmakers from all over the world have been trying to spoil its party.

The upcoming electric AMG will have the responsibility to take on high-performance sedans such as the aforementioned Tesla Model S Plaid and the Lucid Air Sapphire, or the new kid on the block, the Zeekr 001 FR, coming all the way from China.

The Model S Plaid boasts 1,020 horsepower (1,034 PS) and 1,050 lb-ft (1,424 Nm), while the Air Sapphire gets 1,234 horsepower (1,252 PS) and 1,430 lb-ft (1,939 Nm). The Zeekr 001 FR, which was recently spotted doing the tank turn somewhere in China, is rated at 1,238 horsepower (1,265 PS) and 944 lb-ft (1,280 Nm).

To be competitive in this segment, the AMG EV will have to get similar figures. If it can indeed keep up with all the contenders, we will see in 2025.