Mercedes Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive

A full-on sexy sports car with zero emissions – what’s not to love?

 

By Perry Stern

 

Breaking from the current automaker-induced parade of small, economical electric vehicles, Mercedes has built an electric car that is anything but dull. With more than 700 horsepower, the all-new SLS AMG Electric Drive is the most powerful electric car on the road — and it’s the most powerful AMG model of all time.

The SLS ED gets its juice from four electric motors – one at each wheel – making this electric sports car all-wheel-drive. In-wheel electric motors are starting to pop up on concepts and limited-production models like this SLS ED, but the technology remains expensive and challenging to build.
Total power output is 740 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque, enough to move this car to 62 mph in just 3.9 seconds. Due to the excess weight of the 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack, that's roughly the same as the gasoline-powered model and its heavy-breathing 6.2-liter 583-horsepower V8 engine.

But the best part of these four electric motors is the AMG Torque Dynamics system, which allows the driver to completely change the driving characteristics of the car.

On the Circuit Paul Ricard near Marseille, France, we started our drive in comfort mode, or as the engineer called it, "S-Class mode." Acceleration was smooth and steering light, but the car felt a bit heavy. Steering required a lot of input, and going too fast into a corner resulted in understeer. It drove like a soft, front-wheel-drive vehicle.

After a few laps in comfort mode, we bypassed sport mode and went directly to sport-plus. It was like getting into a different vehicle.

Putting my foot down hard resulted in amazing acceleration, pushing me back in the seat. Suddenly, the turn where I had understeered earlier could be taken at much higher speeds with very controllable oversteer, and driving a slalom course felt like I was in a go-kart.

With a range of around 150 miles – which will vary considerably depending on how you drive – the SLS ED is proof that you can have outrageous performance and keep (some) environmentalists happy.

PROS

Incredible performance

Not only does the SLS ED provide the instant acceleration associated with electric motors, there is no wheel spin. The car simply takes off like a shot. The combination of suspension, big ceramic-composite brakes and the ability to adjust power at each wheel gives the SLS excellent handling.

Great styling

If you’re going to build an electric car, why not base it on one of the sexiest cars on the road? The SLS, with its gull-wing doors, is the perfect descendant of the original SL from the 1950s. The incredibly bright paint colors on the Electric Drive show observers this one is something special.

Electric innovation

In order to build a car like the SLS ED, Mercedes used its experience in Formula One racing to create a lightweight and efficient lithium-ion battery pack. Batteries are heated or cooled, depending on the exterior temperature, for optimum efficiency and can be fully charged in just three hours using a 22-kilowatt fast-charge system; otherwise it takes roughly 20 hours on 220 volts. The battery pack is located within a carbon-fiber monocoque that forms an integral part of the chassis and acts as its "spine." The monocoque housing is firmly bolted and bonded to the aluminum spaceframe body.

CONS

Limited availability

Unfortunately, Mercedes has no plans to bring the SLS Electric Drive to the U.S. Roughly 200 will be sold.

Expensive

Innovation doesn’t come cheap. When the SLS ED goes on sale in Germany later this year, the price will be set at around $540,000.

AMG sound

The quiet performance of an electric car adds to its novelty, so it doesn’t seem right that Mercedes has engineered a soundtrack for the SLS ED. The sound is dynamic – it changes depending on road speed, engine speed and load conditions – but it still seems a bit too gimmicky.


MSN Autos attended a manufacturer-sponsored event to facilitate this report.