This astonishing piece of engineering is the Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX - and while it’s only a concept car for now, it could well point to the future of electric motoring.
The good folks in the hi-tech laboratories at Mercedes-Benz are on a mission to ‘break through technological barriers across the board and to lift energy efficiency to new heights’.
Those people wearing white coats in Germany are convinced that there are significant gains to be made that are currently untapped, both in terms of lightweight engineering and advanced software.
And having been back to the drawing board, they’ve come up with this - the VISION EQXX - which is extremely pleasing on the eye and has a rear end with a distinct whiff of Aston Martin about it.
Mercedes-Benz tells us that proper road tests are yet to take place for the VISION EQXX. But having run the concept through lab simulations, it could end up having a range of more than 620 miles between charges, ‘based on internal digital simulations in real-life traffic conditions’.
Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, tells us:
“The Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX is how we imagine the future of electric cars. Just one-and-a-half years ago, we started this project leading to the most efficient Mercedes-Benz ever built - with an outstanding energy consumption of less than 10 kWh per 100 kilometres.
“It has a range of more than 1,000 kilometres on a single charge using a battery that would fit even into a compact vehicle. The VISION EQXX is an advanced car in so many dimensions - and it even looks stunning and futuristic.
“With that, it underlines where our entire company is headed: We will build the world’s most desirable electric cars.”
You’d be wrong to dismiss the claims, too.
As Mercedes-Benz rightly points out, they’re already streaking ahead of some rivals with the new EQS saloon, which is available to order. Recent tests by car rating website Edmunds found that the EQS ‘450+’ variant travelled 422 miles on one charge, 77 miles further than any other car they’d previously tested.
And underpinning the VISION EQXX is a desire to create an electric car to tackle the good old fashion road trip - without lease customers constantly getting range anxiety.
A Mercedes-Benz spokesperson adds:
“There’s a reason why road trips have been a cultural touchstone for at least 70 years, telling stories from the highway in books, movies and music.
“The road trip defines freedom, individuality, the very spirit of the automobile and the passing world. Stick a pin in the map - and drive. Be in tune with the tarmac, and with the car. This urge to explore, discover and revel in the world beyond our horizon is part of what it is to be human. It’s the pioneering spirit that pairs vision with the tenacity to make it happen.
“By ripping up the automotive engineering rule book, Mercedes-Benz has built a software-driven electric car that re-imagines the road trip for the electric era.”
Will the VISION EQXX ever hit UK roads? Only time will tell. But Mercedes-Benz says it represents a ‘completely realistic way forward for electric vehicle technology’ and as a self-styled ‘halo’ car, it could well be the blueprint going forwards.
Watch this space.
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