German car maker Mercedes-Benz will add an AMG variant of its flagship electric EQS luxury sedan to its lineup, in a bid to match the high performance “Plaid” drivetrain being worked on by pioneering electric vehicle maker Tesla.
A high-ranking Mercedes-Benz engineer has told UK car mag Autocar that the German car maker’s AMG division will pump up the specs of its flagship EQS to equal that of the 4-litre V8 the existing S63 4Matic.
In electric format, this would mean the power to be delivered from the possible AMG EQS would be easily surpass 450kW and 900Nm torque.
With specs like that, the range-topping AMG EQS would likely also exceed acceleration specs of its base variant which Mercedes-Benz says will accelerate from 0-100km/hr in 4.2 seconds, as well as offer a performance vehicle top speed of 250km/hr.
Another “official” source has also said that in line with Mercedes’ ‘Electric First’ plans, an all-electric AMG drivetrain seeks to challenge the souped-up tri-motor Tesla drivetrain that is expected to be delivered as a Model S option in late 2020.
Official specifications for the Tesla Plaid drivetrain are unknown but rumoured to be up to 596kW and 1355Nm torque, says Autocar.
First seen in the form of a Vision EQS concept at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show in September, the EQS will join the German marque’s first fully electric vehicle, the EQC luxury electric SUV that was first unveiled in Australia in 2018.
Mercedes-Benz promises in the EQS a”progressive luxury design” that will showcase sustainable luxury for the brand, blazing a trail into electric mobility.
The flagship addition to Mercedes-Benz zero emissions EQ series will be built on the German car maker’s scalable electric vehicle architecture (EVA), which will afford a spacious interior, as with other electric-only vehicles, thanks to the flat packaging of the battery under the vehicle’s floor.
Billed as “lasting beauty that moves”, the concept version of the EQS proffers a flowing “bowed” design with an in-built “light belt” that encircles the waist of the vehicle to give the impression of a black glass panelled upper portion atop a silver body.
This lightbelt seemingly flows into the holographic lens headlights and digital front grille, sparkling with 188 lights, in which the brand’s iconic tri-point logo consisting of 229 stars shines.
Inside, Mercedes-Benz says it has drawn inspiration from the luxury yacht world, incorporating design elements to give driver and passenger the impression of being on the deck of a boat.
How much of this will come to be in the production version of the EQS remains to be seen.
Autocar’s sources say that in addition to the high performance AMG EQS, punters may also be able to expect an electric AMG variant in the S-Class as well as branches of the E-Class (EQE) and the G-Class (EQG).
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.