Mercedes markets world’s faster EV
Fastest electric car in the world. As
titles go, it’s an impressive one and the numbers back it up.
The new SLS Electric Drive is now
Mercedes-Benz’s most expensive production car, with a price tag of $535,000, on
sale in Europe in June. The car will not be sold in the U.S.
It is claimed to hit 62 mph in 3.9 seconds,
just 0.3 second slower than the SLS Black Series. Top speed is 155 mph.
2013
Mercedes-Benz SLS Electric Drive
What’s really impressive is that it
achieves these claims with a curb weight of 4,650 pounds, some 1,200 pounds
more than its conventional combustion engine gullwing sibling, due to its
60-kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
Yes, the SLS Electric Drive is fast. Very
fast. What Mercedes’ official performance claims fail to convey, though, is the
brutal nature of its acceleration, which comes courtesy of four individual
synchronous electric motors, each developing 185 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque for
a total of 740 hp and 737 lb-ft, making it the most powerful Benz ever.
It
is claimed to hit 62 mph in 3.9 seconds, just 0.3 second slower than the SLS
Black Series. Top speed is 155 mph.
Even after driving the rapid SLS Black
Series, the effect of its spontaneous, instant torque left us gob smacked.
Imagine, all the torque of the original Bugatti 16.4 Veyron developed the very
instant you brush the throttle. It is proof positive that if the world’s oil
supplies were to dry up tomorrow, the performance car genre would continue to
live on.
The high-tech zero-emission drivetrain
endows the SLS Electric Drive with a violent shove, both from a standstill and
on the run. You only ever need a light nudge of the heavily sprung throttle to
hit the sort of speed limits in place in the United States.
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Mercedes-Benz SLS Electric Drive inside
What’s most intriguing is the way the SLS
Electric Drive doles out its drive and the effect it has on the handling. With
an individual motor placed at each wheel, the first series production
Mercedes-Benz electric car to be offered to private customers is permanently
driven by all four wheels. An advanced power electronics system keeps tabs on
the traction levels and uses a torque-vectoring system on the individual axles
to juggle it accordingly.
The
high-tech zero-emission drivetrain endows the SLS Electric Drive with a violent
shove, both from a standstill and on the run
The result is an unparalleled level of
agility and, if you’re prepared, lurid over-steer. But with a range limited to
155 miles in its most efficient setting and a three-hour recharge time on a
400-volt charger, it’s a car to be enjoyed in short, but very satisfying,
bursts of driving fun.
2013
Mercedes-Benz SLS Electric Drive back
