The gullwing-doored Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG might be the last place you expect an electric drivetrain to turn up, but in strange economic times, perhaps a sports car can't be just a sports car. And so we have a cutaway of what is apparently the 2015 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG eDrive.
Benz says the electric SLS AMG will have four electric motors, effectively making it four-wheel-drive. But instead of the usual wheel-hub electric motors that result in all sorts of undesirable unsprung weight, these motors are built into the axles, so they can be supported by the car's suspension.
Together, the motors are rated at 526 hp and 649 lb-ft of torque. A transmission at either end of the car gets the power to the wheels, and there's a liquid-cooled, 400-volt lithium-ion battery pack mounted in back, which Mercedes says has an energy content of 48 kWh.
Somehow this all fits into the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG with "no changes whatsoever" to the car's all-aluminum frame. And, says Benz, the SLS AMG eDrive would be as quick as the normal V8 version, claiming the electric SLS will hit 60 mph in 4 seconds.
And since Mercedes is giving itself five more years to make good on that claim, we suppose anything's possible.
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