Is the Upcoming AMG GT the Foundation for an All-electric AMG SLS?
Several years and many ideologies later, AMG boss says now is the time for a successor to the electric 2013 Gullwing.
In the early New Tens, Mercedes-AMG introduced the world to a bright green, all-electric supercar, the SLS Electric Drive. The car, based on the AMG SLS, delivered 740 horsepower and 737 lb-ft of torque to the corners with the combined power of four electric motors, good for a zero to 60 mph time of 3.9 seconds.
Though the SLS Electric Drive found only a handful of fans in its brief time in the showroom, a lot has changed since then. Mercedes is about to unleash a new family of all-electric vehicles, and based on what AMG chief Tobias Möers told Autoblog at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, AMG is ready to try again with electrification.
“Why should we ignore it?” Möers said, regarding the possibility of a new SLS Electric Drive, adding that the original was “a very specific car” for its day, and one he’s proud of. The original SLS Electric Drive set the Nurburgring record for the fastest production EV with a lap time of 7:56.264, a record it still holds today.
One of the reasons the SLS Electric Drive didn’t fly off the shelves was due to cost: the price for one was $537,000 in 2013 ($582,937 in 2018 dollars). Once everyone not named Elon Musk started taking electrification seriously to the point of increasing demand for hybrids and fully electric vehicles, though, it was only a matter of time until a beast like the SLS Electric Drive could make a return; lower production costs related to electrification will certainly help, too.
Which leads to a year ago, where an SLS Electric Drive was caught testing on the Nurburgring, serving as a mule for an upcoming EV. Top Speed believes the EV will likely be based upon the 2020 AMG GT. Though the supercar uses a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 for motivation, Mercedes-AMG does have a turbocharged inline-six with a 48-volt mild hybrid system, its upcoming AMG One uses a hybrid V6 Formula One motor, and the next-gen AMG C 63 will be a hybrid. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
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