The Mercedes SLS AMG has one of the loudest and most audacious exhaust notes of any car on the road. It's part of what gives it that distinct character.
But what if you drop the engine, keep the gullwing doors, and stuff it full of batteries? You get this, the lightning blue, white wheeled, sexy, gullwinged, electric, SLS Electric Drive. And this isn't a concept. You can buy it... if you have the money.
The SLS AMG Electric Drive is driven by four electric motors — one at each corner — that are powered by a whole mess of lithium ion batteries. It's good enough for an astounding 740 horsepowers — 552 kw here in Europe — and 737 pound feet of torque, which is an even 1000 newton meters.
Each electric motor can rev to 13,000 RPM, which is pretty astounding. That makes it get to 62 MPH in 3.9 seconds. Compared to the regular car, that's just 0.2 slower. Not. Too. Shabby.
The batteries give the car an estimated maximum range of 250 kilometers, which is about 155 miles. Not the farthest we've seen, but then again, this is a ground breaking car. A normal charge will take about 20 hours, but there is also a quick charger available that can get the car up to speed in about three hours.
The real problem is the price. The Electric Drive is available to purchase, but, ironically, you need to be an oil barron to afford one. The SLS AMG Electric Drive we saw today is 416,500 Euro. Thats $537,000.
If you can afford it, deliveries will start in June 2013. But I have also seen the future of supercars. I'm excited.
Oh, Mercedes also had an electric B-Class on the stage. That's more for your regular commoners. It was still a concept, and has a projected range of abut 130 miles. They showed it before the SLS, which was a good decision, since people would've been super disinterested by it.