Base Price: ?416,500 ($541,000)
Competitors: None
Powertrains: 4 AC electric motors, 740 hp, 738 lb-ft; 60-kwh lithium-ion battery pack; direct drive, AWD
EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): N/A
What's New: On the outside it looks like almost exactly like a gas-powered SLS AMG, but underneath lies a completely different powertrain that is hand-assembled at the AMG headquarters in Affalterbach, Germany. There are four electric motors, one for each wheel, making a total of 740 hp. In between, along the center of the car where the engine, propshaft, and transmission used to be, is the 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack encased in a thick carbon-fiber shell. To fit the front axles and motors, AMG reengineered the front suspension, going from the double-wishbone setup in the gas-powered version to a multilink with racing-style pushrod dampers.
At a glance the interior of the SLS AMG Electric Drive reveals no major differences, though the dashboard is slightly reconfigured to show the total energy usage or regen. The steering-wheel paddle shifters, which still have Up and Down stampings, are repurposed?in the electric version, they toggle the regenerative braking between four levels, displayed in the row of lights in the instrument cluster that used to show engine RPM.
In Europe, with the appropriate high-voltage charger, the SLS AMG Electric Drive can charge in as little as 3 hours. Using the onboard charger takes quite a bit longer: 20 hours. On the European combined test, which is more conservative than U.S. tests, the range is 155 miles.
Tech Tidbit: The Electric Drive features AMG Torque Dynamics, which allows the power to be adjusted individually for each motor depending on what the car is supposed to do. In a turn, for instance, the outside motors will drive the car while the inside motors will drag with a regenerative force, helping to turn the car. It's similar to the torque-vectoring system used on some AWD cars, except with faster responses and control at all four corners instead of just two.
Driving Character: The SLS AMG Electric Drive proves that an EV can be just as exciting as a gas-powered supercar. We can't decide what's more mind-blowing about this car: the way it changes character between driving modes or just how easy and fun it can be.
As with other AMG cars, a rotary lets you choose between C, S, and S+. In C, or Controlled Efficiency mode, the SLS feels reserved and corners with a bit of understeer. Punch it up to Sport Plus and the car feels completely different, with instantaneous reactions to steering inputs and a cornering attitude that borders on oversteer. With 740 hp on tap and 738 lb-ft of instantaneous torque available, we thought the Electric Drive would do two things: shred the tires and scare us straight to a Nissan Leaf. But in reality, the SLS is smooth, and the torque-vectoring system makes the car so responsive that the gas-powered SLS AMG seems piggish.
Favorite Detail: Neither the bright yellow nor the ultrashiny blue hues that adorned the cars on hand for our test session at Paul Ricard Circuit in southern France are actually paint?they're wraps. We're not concerned with how they come to look that way?we just love that a nearly silent car comes with the loudest color scheme in the world.
Driver's Grievance: Sure, we accept that this is a special car, but the 155-mile range illustrates that electric cars still have serious limitations, even ones that cost megabucks.
Bottom Line: With a 0-to-100-kilometers-per-hour (0-to-62-mph) time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph, the SLS Electric Drive is a stunning piece of engineering. Sadly, it's for sale only in Europe, and the price (more than double that of a gas-powered SLS) guarantees that this will be a rare car. Plus, it makes even less practical sense than its conventional counterpart.
Yet, that's a considerable part of the charm. Mercedes-Benz didn't need to build an electric supercar. The SLS Electric Drive is the best kind of automaker bravado, the kind that shows what can be done at the limits of technology, where reason and rationality are of little importance.
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