The latest Mercedes SLS model reviewed by Chris Harris was the Black Series version. Today, however, he went from the most powerful supercar developed by Mercedes to its first electric one: the Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive. The test was performed at the Circuit Paul Ricard and, as usual, he offers a pretty amazing test drive and some cool insight on the electric supercar.
The SLS AMG Electric Drive is powered by four electric motors – one at each wheel. This system delivers a total of 740 horsepower and 737 pound-feet of torque. This amount of power is enough to sprint the car from 0 to 60 mph in only 3.9 seconds, making it only 0.2 seconds slower than its gasoline bother and 0.5 seconds faster than the Tesla Model S.
Be patient and watch the full 20-minutes video. We can assure you it’s totally worth the time spent.
The Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive is very different from the norm for Mercedes. Instead of the big V-8s featured across the network, this little car hums along silently on batteries driving its front wheels. It will be the first all-electric vehicle from Mercedes-Benz, and the first of any B-Class to cross the pond. This matches the latest company strategy to fatten the range of models from all sides.
Most of the systems that charge and run the little B-Class will be shared with its bright-yellow sibling: the upcoming SLS AMG Coupe E-Cell. Both systems are part of a deep tech partnership between Mercedes parent company Daimler and Tesla. Fruit from this sharing agreement has been limited to date, and arguably, some of the most sour fruit on the branch via the Smart ED. That car ran Tesla Roadster parts, but downsized. The resulting “car” was appallingly slow. Tesla didn’t seem to be sharing the good, M5-beating stuff yet.
This is set to change when the B-Class Electric Drive hits U.S. showrooms in January 2014. The model will arrive in dealers first before a limited roll-out in Europe.
As Mercedes’ first viable EV, the B-Class Electric is a complete package that excels in its mission of effortless city efficiency plus Mercedes-levels safety, durability, luxury and ownership experience.
Yesterday, BMW was caught testing what appeared to be an electric version of the X1, and today our spy photographers have caught the upcoming i3 out for a testing session.
As you can see, the prototype continues to strip and we now can see the roofline and the lower parts of the front bumper. In these spy shots you can also see the lines of the classic BMW kidney grille and the window line in the rear doors.
Also, when looking from the side, it appears that the future i3 will lack the Hofmeister kink that was introduced back in 1961 and has been on almost every BMW since then.
The car will use a powerful 170-horsepower electric engine that will sprint the car from 0 to 60 mph in under 8 seconds and up to a top speed of 93 mph. Rumors suggest it will be priced at about $55,000 at the current exchange rates.
Today must have been national test day for electric cars. Shortly after catching the R8 E-tron testing in the cold, our spy photographers caught a very interesting model testing. At a first look it appears you are looking at a standard BMW X1, but you are actually looking at an all-electric X1.
As you can see from the spy shots the prototype features no exhaust pipes and there are also some Hybrid stickers – an obvious attempt at subterfuge. Our spy photographers lurked around long enough to confirm that this is an EV, as when it finally took off, there was not a peep from a gasoline engine.
We are not too sure if this means that the company is developing an electric version of the X1 or if it is simply testing the technology for other models. Still, considering that BMW and Toyota have recently signed an agreement and that Toyota already offers an electric version of the RAV4, you shouldn’t be too surprised to see something similar from BMW.
When Audi announced that the R8 E-tron was delayed indefinitely, we were pretty skeptical. After all why spend so much money on a project that will never make it to production, right?
Today, our spy photographers have caught some R8 E-Tron prototypes testing during in the cold, despite the certificate of death. Additionally, a few R8 E-Tron prototypes where spotted in Spain last week, making us believe that the R8 E-Tron is very much alive.
This news does not come as a big surprise, considering that BMW is almost finished with the development of its i8 supercar. As usual, Audi will need an i8 fighter to draw customers’ attention back to its lineup and the R8 E-Tron would certainly do that.
However, we need to be fair and admit that Audi could be testing the E-Tron’s technology for a different model. Unfortunately, only Audi knows what’s really going on here, so stay tuned to learn more about a possible production version R8 E-Tron.
Click past the jump to read more on the R8 E-Tron.
In the previous movie, Iron Man drove a standard Audi R8 sports car, but for the third installment of the series, Iron Man will be switching to the E-tron version. In fact, he will be among only a few in the world who have had the opportunity to actually enjoy the R8 E-tron, as Audi decided not to offer a production version.
The new commercial for the Iron Man 3 shows the electric supercar in action, and as we can see from the video, is a shame a production version will not follow.
The R8 E-tron is powered by four electric motors with a total output of 313 horsepower. It can go from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.8 seconds, so bad guys won’t have a chance to outrun the Iron Man.
Iron Man 3 will be released on theaters on April 24.
Okay, we’ve held off on publishing this news for the majority of the day, as we awaited some form of confirmation from our contact at Fisker, but that confirmation didn’t come before a source reported it to Bloomberg.
Well, if you haven’t heard already, Fisker has laid off nearly 75 percent of its workforce, including its PR and communications team. This leaves only a skeleton crew of roughly 50 employees left over, most of whom are likely assemblers and upper-level executives.
This report comes on the heels of rumors that Fisker had secured attorneys to start the bankruptcy process. We cannot say that this shocks us at all, given the downward spiral that the EV builder has been in for the last year, or so. However, the fact that it all happened so quickly really makes us wonder if the company was in a lot worse shape than we were informed of when we gave Fisker the opportunity to clear the air and reintroduce themselves to prospective buyers.
The first-generation Tesla Roadster enjoyed great success on the market with more than 2,400 units sold in 31 countries through September 2012. The final 15 units were sold as a special Final Edition, giving the Tesla Roadster’s initial run a suitable sendoff.
For the second generation, Tesla is promising even greater things. In an interview with AutoCar, Tesla boss, George Blankenship, said that the next Roadster will be something never seen before and will "push the envelope beyond what anybody else is doing."
According to Blankenship, the next Roadster will be considerably improved when compared to the first generation. The first Roadster went from 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds and offered a range of 200 miles, but the next model is promised to do even better than the 300-mile range that the Model S sedan offers.
The next Roadster will arrive in about five years, after the Model X SUV arrives in 2014 or 2015 and a 3-series-sized four-door in 2015 or 2016. We think it is safe to expect the new Roadster sometime in 2016 or 2017.
Click past the jump to read more on the Tesla Roadster.
When it comes to stature, recognition and overall appeal, the exclusive Rimac Concept One still can’t hold a candle to the world famous Ferrari 458 Italia.
But everything else, well, that’s a different story.
In an attempt to show off the Concept One to the wealthy market in the Middle East, Croatian automaker, Rimac, decided to show what exactly its electric supercar is capable of. We already know the numbers: 1,073 horsepower and 1,180 pound-feet of torque, courtesy of four-in-wheel electric motors to go with a curb weight of 1,650 kg and a 0-to-100 km/h (62 mph) time of just 2.8 seconds with an electronically limited top speed of 189 mph.
The Concept One’s capabilities were in full display after Rimac decided to pit it against the 458 Italia in a good ’ol drag race to see which car has the leg up over the other.
It must be said, though, that the 458 Italia’s 562 horses doesn’t come close to the numbers the Concept One can produce, but the whole point of the race, at least as far we’re concerned, is to show everyone with the money to spare - about $1 million, give or take - that the Concept One is worthy of all that dough.
Ever heard of the name Detroit Electric? If you answer yes, chances are you’re a tried and true auto historian because Detroit Electric is a real automaker.
Except that it hasn’t been around since 1939.
But back then, it was considered a pioneer of sorts, producing electric cars way before they were en vogue. But for whatever circumstance, the brand went away and it wasn’t until last year when it made a return.
Now, the reborn Detroit Electric is prepared to make some new headlines, thanks to a new electric car that’s fixing to change the way we think of EVs.
The car is called the SP:01, a Lotus Exige-looking electric sports car that Detroit Electric is promoting as the world’s fastest production electric car.
Not one to mince hyperbole, the Detroit-based automaker is determined to bring new life to the brand and it’s got a car in the SP:01 that can help it achieve just that.
Find out more about the Detroit Electric SP:01 after the jump
