Mercedes-AMG is working on an electric supercar to launch the performance brand into the EV era.
Based on the 2023 Vision One-Eleven concept, it is the spiritual successor to the 2013 SLS Electric Drive. But AMG won’t just make nine examples of the newcomer due out before 2030.
The new electric supercar is considered key to the future of the Mercedes-AMG brand. While more models with combustion power are coming, AMG Chairman Michael Schiebe said: “It’s clear that we are going all-electric.”
AMG told Autocar UK this will be quicker than the Mercedes-AMG One hybrid using F1 technology. It won’t come cheap either, costing far in excess of the AMG GT. The newcomer will compete with the likes of Porsche’s Mission X missile.
The production version of the Vision One-Eleven will use the AMG.EA architecture. It is engineered solely for AMG’s electric models. This platform is modular, with varying lengths, wheelbases and track widths.
The new supercar will use an 800V electric architecture and a cylindrical-cell lithium-ion battery. It features silicon-anode developments from US battery specialist Sila.
Powering the speedster are high-revving axial-flux electric motors. These are about half the size and weight of conventional synchronous and asynchronous electric motors used by the company currently. They are a key defining technical aspect of future electric AMG models and will debut in next year’s production version of the AMG Vision (below).
Schiebe said customers came to AMG “because they loved the technology that we put into the car. So when it comes to electric driving, I’m pretty sure they will jump into that new technology because it will be the latest and greatest that you can get.”
Axial-flux electric motors are not new and already feature in some other supercars (SF90 Stradale, Regera). However, the latest versions develop twice as much power as the existing electric motors (up to 365kW and 800Nm, yet they weigh in at 24kg). One model with have a motor at the front and two at the rear, while the range topper will have a pair for each axle. Expect significant increases in power and performance compared with anything AMG has sold before.
Production of AMG’s axial-flux motors will start next year. Schiebe said AMG will not abandon its ‘one man, one engine’ philosophy, and will offer something akin to that with its electric powertrains.
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