Mercedes-AMG pure EV a logical step – Kallenius

A battery-powered boost for high-performance Mercedes-Benz models, particularly AMGs, represents a logical progression for the brand, according to CarAdvice. The just-launched EQ C is the German automaker’s first step towards a line of fully electric models, and performance arm AMG has also started on its journey into electrification, albeit partially with the CLS 53.

With mild hybrids already being produced and a proper performance hybrid (the bonkers F1-engined Project One) on the horizon, a pure EV is the next logical step, while plug-in hybrids are coming in the shape of an electrified version of the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe which is slated for a 2020 debut. The first series production car to wear the marque’s EQ Power+ sub-branding for performance electrification, it was previewed by the GT Concept, which was a 815 hp beast with a claimed 0-100 km/h time of “under three seconds.”

“You know that weight is always not the friend of the performance car. So, finding the right balance of boost, weight, CO2 and so on, is the challenge in that department. So that’s a very comprehensive strategy that AMG is (using), as we speak,” said board member and global head of research for Daimler AG and development for all Mercedes-Benz models Ola Kallenius. He was also previously head of Mercedes-AMG.

Kallenius mentions the SLS Electric Drive as an example of what AMG could demonstrate five years ago with electric power. “When do we take the step into a full battery-electric AMG vehicle? We were early starters, with the SLS Electric Drive, a kind of crazy project to demonstrate, in an extreme way, what is possible if you really unleash the engineers and let them do what they can do,” he said.

The firm has learned that a lot is possible with that car, Kallenius added, saying that torque vectoring brought great benefits on the vehicle dynamics aspect. “It was absolutely amazing to drive that car on a handling track, because it felt like you were driving on rails. That whet the appetite. In the journey towards more and more electric mobility, it’s absolutely possible that AMG steps into that scene as well,” he noted.

When exactly will that entry take place? “It’s not a concrete project kicked off at this time, but can I see it happening? Yes I can see it happening,” Kallenius said. Certainly by the looks of the Vision EQ Silver Arrow concept that was unveiled at Pebble Beach last month, there will be more from that vein to come.

GALLERY: Mercedes-Benz Vision EQ Silver Arrow concept at Pebble Beach

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.