Mercedes-AMG is working on an electric supercar set to launch later this decade.
According to Autocar, the electric supercar will draw inspiration from last year’s Vision One-Eleven concept, which was designed as a tribute to the series of C111 technology demonstrators introduced in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. The concept also showcased axial-flux motors developed by YASA, a company known for high-performance electric motors that was acquired by Mercedes in 2021.
Axial-flux motors are lighter and smaller than traditional radial-flux motors of similar output, although they are more challenging to manufacture, resulting in higher costs. Mercedes plans to produce axial-flux motors at a plant in Berlin, with the first application likely to be a sleek four-door liftback based on AMG's new AMG.EA EV platform, expected to launch in the next 12 months. Prototypes of the liftback, which will be AMG's first dedicated EV, have been spotted testing on multiple occasions.
One of YASA's axial-flux motors generates 489 hp and weighs just under 53 pounds. Mercedes is reportedly considering multiple configurations, including tri-motor and quad-motor setups. The supercar is expected to utilize the AMG.EA platform, and according to Autocar, it will not only surpass the upcoming liftback in performance but also outmatch the AMG One hypercar, which currently holds the production car lap record at the Nürburgring with a time of 6:35.183 set in 2022.
Despite Mercedes recently announcing a breakthrough in the development of lightweight, energy-dense solid-state batteries, Autocar reported that the supercar will stick with liquid-type lithium-ion batteries, albeit with a new cylindrical-cell design featuring silicon anodes. AMG has extensive experience with electric power, having first tested the waters in 2014 with the SLS AMG Electric Drive, which was the fastest and most powerful EV on the market at the time with a 740 hp output. Since then, AMG has gained more expertise from its F1 program, particularly in energy discharging and recovery.
