Remember the atrociously green electric Mercedes-AMG SLS unveiled back in 2011, called the E-Cell? The production version it spawned was a bit of a flop, but Mercedes-Benz is more serious than ever about electrification and Tobias Möers, the boss of AMG, is confident that a new electric sports car is on the way.

It's been almost a decade since Mercedes-Benz tested the waters with an eco-friendly version of the mighty SLS. At the time, the car was considered as nothing more than a way for Mercedes to flex its tech-savvy muscles but now, on the brink of 2019, we view EVs differently, and that car might be the stepping stone for AMG's next flagship electric sports car.

What the Next SLS Electric Drive will be like

Time flies, doesn't it? It feels like just yesterday Mercedes took the wraps off the way-too-green AMG SLS at the 2011 North-American International Auto Show. The car looked almost identical to the gas-guzzling V-8-powered SLS we all knew, with the exception that the familiar rumble was gone and the acceleration times went down severely.

It put out a combined power of 740 horsepower and 737 pound-feet of torque. While it was almost 1,000 pounds heavier than the standard SLS, it also had over 150 horsepower more, so acceleration from 0 to 62 mph in under 4 seconds was feasible. Below you can find the full specs of this car which was made in less than 100 examples due to its prohibitive MSRP.

2013 Mercedes SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive Specifications

The years passed and, while the E-Cell and the Electric Drive never quite created the buzz that Mercedes had hoped for, the German Automaker stuck to its guns and, last year, it was out testing a modified version of the E-Cell prototype. We didn't learn much since the spy shots of the rigged-up E-Cell emerged but, now, at the L.A. Auto Show, AMG boss Tobias Möers said that the prospect of an electric sports car akin to the SLS Electric Drive shouldn't be ignored.

He went on to say, in the same interview quoted by Autoblog, that the SLS was "a very specific car" and that he's still proud that it holds the lap record for production EV machinery around the Nordschleife with a lap of 7:56.234.

For instance, its new inline six-pot has a 48-volt mild hybrid system and, with the next-gen C63 AMG bound to sport a hybrid powertrain, a hybrid V-8 is on the cards. Should I remind you what kind of engine the AMG GT uses?

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2013 Mercedes SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive

Read our full review on the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell.

Read our full review on the 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C Coupe.