Mercedes-AMG GT XX: 186mph for 8 days
We find out what it's like to lap Nardo (and the world) in Mercedes-AMG's 1,360hp EV record-smasher...
Just days after China stole the show with a 300mph-nudging Yangwang U9 Track Edition run, Europe, or more specifically, Mercedes-AMG, responded with an astounding EV record that does far more than just add another big number to the history books. In fact, AMG’s new notch on Guinness’s bedpost directly addresses the concerns of those of us who might have seen such records broken in the past and still thought to ask: “Yeah, but how far will it go? How fast will it charge? And how long will its battery last?”
The Concept AMG GT XX - underpinned by an AMG.EA platform that’s so close to production readiness that each example now gets its own VIN - has positively smashed the record for the distance travelled by an electric car in 24 hours at 3,404 miles. This surpasses the previous record, set by the XPeng P7 just two weeks ago, by an astounding 943 miles. It’s the equivalent of adding the drive from Dundee to London and back to your journey.
Not only that, but AMG used its concept to break 24 more distance records, the heftiest one being the fastest time for an EV to complete the equivalent of a full lap of the Earth’s equator. A 36-strong team comprised of AMG and Mercedes High Performance Powertrain engineers - and 17 AMG racing drivers, including some chap called George Russell - spent 7 days, 13 hours, 24 minutes and seven seconds piloting, charging and maintaining two examples of AMG’s concept car at Italy's Nardo Ring. The lead car travelled the equator-equivalent of 24,901 miles, while the second finished just 15.5 miles behind.
Before we delve into what this all means for Mercedes-AMG's upcoming AMG.EA-based super saloon (and the super-SUV that will follow it), it’s worth considering the key numbers associated with the record-smashing concept. With a 1,360hp output produced by three high-power-density axial-flux motors, a 0.192 drag coefficient and an 850kW average (yes, average!) charge rate adding 249 miles to the battery in just five minutes, the concept boasts a top speed of at least 224mph from its single-ratio setup. The average speed for the AMG XX GT’s week of driving in circles at Nardo was 186mph. As AMG.EA chief platform engineer, Oliver Weich, put it: “300kph for eight days around the globe. Now we can say it’s Autobahn approved”. Indeed.
Admittedly, because the production car won’t have the ultra-slippery Concept AMG GT XX body (as it’ll need a taller glasshouse so rear passengers will fit), AMG remains tight-lipped on some technical specifics. It hasn’t revealed battery capacity or efficiency, so we can’t calculate the car’s predicted range. But even with its taller body, I’d say the production car’s battery will be no smaller than 90kWh, so the range should still be well north of the new electric CLA (which is on sale using the electric- and hybrid-compatible Mercedes Modular Architecture platform) and its 484-mile capability.
This should be the case thanks to the astounding innovations packed into the AMG.EA's drivetrain. Those three F1-inspired axial flux motors, two of which drive each of the rear wheels independently, and one of which powers the front axle, are energised by an oil-cooled battery that uses cylinders rather than conventional cells for energy density and thermal management. No fewer than 3,000 cylindrical Nickel Cobalt Manganese Aluminium (NCMA) cells are packed into 22 laser-welded aluminium housings, which are cooled by a pressurised flow of oil that carries heat away and towards a nose-mounted radiator.
The cylindrical cells’ thin, tall shape means even the middle of the cells is physically close to the surrounding cooling oil, so temperature fluctuations across the battery are minimal. The radiator also cools the oil that keeps the motors at the front and back at optimum temperatures too, with complex algorithms able to understand exactly what is needed to maintain running conditions across the drivetrain. Whether the car is being driven in the Arctic Circle during winter, Death Valley in summer, or, indeed, at Nardo, by a four-time F1 race winner, engineers claim temperatures will remain “optimum”.
This hyper-focus on maintaining ideal running conditions is what gives AMG’s engineers the confidence to claim not only that power, charge speeds and range will remain consistent at all times, but also that longevity will be massively improved compared with conventional EV drivetrains. One of the battery engineers suggested to PH that AMG’s setup can almost “completely counteract” the ageing of the battery, with the stress of the week at Nardo meaning the record-holding Concept AMG GT XX’s battery age is equivalent not to the actual 24,901 miles it’s done, but 100,000 ‘real-world’ miles.
And yet, as I’m sat in the passenger seat of the actual car that set the record - evidenced by the smears and bug graveyard all over its nose - the addition of a mile to the range per second confirms the battery beneath us is receiving energy from Mercedes’s 1,000kW charger happily enough. Engineers tell me that even with its 100k-mile equivalent wear and tear, the battery - which has only ever known the brutality of 850kW rapid charging - is still capable of charging to “at least 90% of its original capacity”. And don’t forget, many future AMG owners will have the luxury of overnight home charging, which is much kinder to a battery over the years. Judging by the concept’s performance, you’d imagine it would be easily possible for an AMG.EA-based production car to maintain close to its full charge potential, even after 100k miles on the road.
The prototype 1,000kW rapid charger plugged into the concept is another innovation set to reach reality next year, as Mercedes rolls out a network across Europe and the UK that’ll apparently operate as seamlessly as Tesla’s, albeit with more than twice the potential charging speed. And the interior that surrounds me, made using sustainable materials including recycled GT3 racing tyres turned into a synthetic ‘leather’, features a mix of current-gen Mercedes digital tech, ambient lighting and Formula E-style LED lights, which together act as ‘predictive performance manager’ tech. This helps the drivers know when it is best to lift and when it is best to power on.
And boy, is there power. The way that the Concept AMG GT XX dashes out of the pit box (located temporarily under one of the Nardo Ring bridges since the record run), even for someone well accustomed to the thrust of performance EVs, is enough for that floating feeling in your stomach that makes you gasp. Powering onto the 7.8-mile-long Nardo Ring demonstrates the elasticity of AMG’s 1,360hp drivetrain, with acceleration building rather than fading as the speed piles on. Settling into the outside lane high up on the banking and into an indicated 250kph (155mph) ‘cruise’, AMG’s concept feels as composed as most cars do at 70mph.
No less impressive is the digital screen that shows just 7% of the accelerator is being pressed by our driver to maintain this speed, and the front motor is now fully disengaged. With a helmet on, I can barely hear any wind noise, emphasising the fact that the AMG’s 0.192Cd means the drivetrain can relax at 155mph, as the concept hammers around a ring of tarmac that’s visible from space. It’s not until the dash lights go from amber to white, signifying that it’s time to lift and coast, that the strength of the regeneration is clear. A full lift, with regeneration at maximum, is - I’m not kidding - like stamping on the brakes, almost at emergency stop pressure. It’s not until we’re at almost a complete stop that the actual brakes are used. Not a single kilowatt is wasted.
So while it’s true that the low-slung body will be swapped for something more practical, the majority of what is occurring beneath the Concept AMG XX ought to make it to the incoming AMG.EA-based production cars. Granted, the road-going version will almost certainly be wound back from its current record-breaking spec, but what AMG's super saloon and following SUV could represent in terms of real-world EV development and progress, not just on the road but also at the charging station, is arguably the brand’s most significant innovation this century. Only now, rather than facing other European marques, it’s up against the newfound might of the Chinese. No pressure then.
Obviously its a way off but it bodes well for EV's as its one of the current bugbears, coupled with the promised improved battery capacity and prices getting more palatable I can see them doing what tech always does and overtaking the incumbent, if you can put 400 miles range on a car in ten minutes then who will bother with petrol or diesel ?
Still wont make nice noises but cant have everything.
Even the most basic 15 year old BMW 530D could manage that feat quite easily.
To average 186 MPH over a period of 7 and half days you would have needed to do 33500 is miles. Yet the lead car only did 24901 which is only 130ish MPH.
Where is Pistonheads getting their figures from?
Even the most basic 15 year old BMW 530D could manage that feat quite easily.
When running, they ran the car at ~186mph (300km/h). When stopped to recharge, they obviously were "running" at 0mph.
Quick Maffs says the car spent about 1/4 of the time stopped (presumably recharging), and about 3/4 of the time running.
Edited to add: 7% of throttle to maintain 250km/h is 95bhp, which is about 72kW per the article
I estimate to maintain 300km/h you'd need about 100kW (this is a very rough estimate because the rolling resistance and frontal area are unknowns).
Assuming a battery capacity of around 100kW raw, you'd recharge to about 90kW SoC then run the car 45 minutes at 100kW (=75kW/h) down to a 15kW Soc level, then stop and recharge.
Rinse and repeat for 7½ days.
The battery may bigger than 100kW/h, recent production Mercs have been around 105 or 110.
Whatever the actuals, the above is a sensible stab at what they were doing.
When running, they ran the car at ~186mph (300km/h). When stopped to recharge, they obviously were "running" at 0mph.
Quick Maffs says the car spent about 1/4 of the time stopped (presumably recharging), and about 3/4 of the time running.
Just to put it into perspective 40 years ago or nearly half a century Saab did something with their 9000 factory cars.
"Saab’s 1986 media information explains: “The cars were driven constantly at about 220 KPH [136.7 MPH], but the pit stops reduced the average speed to between 210 [130.5] and 215 KPH [133.6 MPH]. Each car covered a distance of 5,000 kilometers [3,107 miles] a day–which corresponds to driving from Sweden’s capital, Stockholm, to Rome and back.”"
These were also normal production cars with roll cages. Progress hey
I think people jump into one camp or the other, and the nuance is lost, its not as black and white, the vitriol and scorn seen on here for EV's is bizarre, especially from those if us, like me who have never driven one, going to have to change that.
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