Next AMG GT May Follow SLS Electric Drive, Ditch V8 for Batteries
Plans for fully electric AMG GT part of Mercedes-AMG’s goals for giving customers the experience of a high-performance EV.
Mercedes-AMG stands at the crossroads of the future. Behind it, a path of gasoline-fueled, turbo-charged, high-performance luxury machines. Ahead, a chrome-plated electric superhighway filled with blue skies as far as the eye can see. The company is already taking the first few steps toward that road, building machines with electric turbos onboard as part of its take on hybrid systems.
Yet, it knows it needs to do more. According to CarBuzz, Mercedes-AMG plans to unleash an all-electric machine down the road, in the form of the next AMG GT.
“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,” said Mercedes-AMG boss Ola Källenius at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany. “That is why we are starting to work not just on electrified AMGs but also our first fully electric AMGs.”
Of course, Mercedes-AMG did have a fully electric halo car a few years ago, in the form of the SLS Electric Drive. The car ditched the V8 for a set of electric motors — one per wheel — capable of delivering a combined 740 horses. Those electric stallions helped motivate the gull-winged machine from zero to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds, an impressive feat in 2013, a impressive feat still today.
What wasn’t as impressive was how the SLS Electric Drive was received. The idea of an all-electric car from Mercedes-AMG may have sounded wonderful, but the $500,000 price tag and 160-mile range meant it was destined to be a track-day bomber, and nothing more. All told, around 100 examples of the electric gullwing were sold before AMG cashed out.
The progression of time allows for change, however, from minds to technology. With the second generation of the Tesla Roadster — the car which started the modern EV revolution — coming in the New ’20s, an all-electric AMG GT would be just the ticket to thank Elon Musk for all he’s done, preferably while blowing the doors off of his new ride. Only time will tell.
Photos: Mercedes-AMG
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