AMG Is Betting Big on an Electrified Future
AMG CEO confirms that an all-electric model is most certainly in the works.
Big changes are afoot at AMG. It’s killing off its insanely-powerful, hand-built V12s. It declared rear-wheel drive dead. A hybrid Q-ship is in the works. So is a new generation of quieter cars. With all this upheaval, you’d be forgiven for thinking that nothing is sacred. But it’s this kind of thinking that lets companies look clear-eyed into the future. No more distractions. No sentimentality. It’s exactly what the world’s most famous tuner needs to keep roaring (albeit quietly) into the 2020s and beyond.
Speaking this week with Autocar, AMG CEO Ola Källenius says: “We have to get to the point where the means of propulsion is not considered important, because AMG is all about the experience of customers.” Makes sense – listen to what the customer wants. Beyond the division’s storied racing successes, AMG has always catered to the tastes of its well-heeled clientele. And with AMG-trimmed Benzes featured across the current Mercedes lineup, there are more cars touched by Affalterbach on the road than ever before.
But wait, there’s more. Källenius continues: “That is why we are starting to work not just on electrified AMGs but also our first fully electric AMGs.” This, of course, is a very big deal.
Going all-electric – again
This isn’t quite AMG’s first electrified rodeo. Back in 2013, when roaring RWD AMGs roamed the earth, the tuner surprised the world with the Mercedes-AMG SLS Electric Drive, a battery-powered version of its SLS supercar. That car lived up to its name, making 740 horsepower and 737 pound-feet of torque, and hitting 60 from a standstill in 3.6 seconds. It also had a range of 160 miles under responsible driving conditions, weighed just under 5,000 pounds, and cost nearly half-a-million dollars in 2013. Under 100 cars were built, so while it was a production vehicle, we suppose AMG can write the shiny, gull-winged EV off as a curiosity.
The SLS was AMG’s first car designed from the ground-up, and it set the division down the path that led it to the AMG GT 4-Door, the Mercedes-AMG One, and beyond. We’re looking forward to electrified AMGs silently tearing up the Nürburgring in the not-too-distant future. But we’re most excited about the tuner’s first exclusively electric offering. Because if there’s one historical trait that AMG is holding onto, it’s that incredible things happen when its engineers and designers get to design and build cars their way.
Photos: Mercedes-AMG
Join the MB World forums now!
