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Mercedes-AMG Unveils Racing-Inspired EV

Three electric motors and the sound of a V8.

While other automakers might be pulling back, Mercedes is pushing forward with its EV strategy.

In Los Angeles, the automaker unveiled the racing-inspired AMG GT 4-Door Coupe EV. The tri-motor electric sports car delivers up to 1,153 hp (860 kW) and 1,475 lb-ft (2,000 Nm) and has an audio feature that should appeal to petrol heads.

Sitting on the automaker's AMG.EA architecture, the GT 4-Door Coupe takes the GT name into the electric world. To get the full skinny on the new vehicle, Mercedes invited me to a vehicle briefing during a trip to Germany ahead of its unveiling in Los Angeles. The engineers shared details about the vehicle's axial flux motors, 800-volt ultra-quick charging architecture, and that V8 engine note.

In flux

The three motors – two in the rear and one in the front – were developed by YASA, a company Mercedes purchased in 2021. The British electric motor specialist built the motors to be compact yet extremely powerful. Mercedes states:

"In an axial flux motor, the electromagnetic flux runs parallel to the motor’s axis of rotation. In a conventional electric motor, it runs perpendicular to the axis. Key components of the axial flux motor are designed as thin discs: two rotors enclose the stator like a sandwich on the left and right. This arrangement – also known as an H-configuration – allows optimal coupling of the magnetic flux generated by the stator to the rotors."

Exploded diagram of the axial flux motor. (Mercedes-Benz)

The motors themselves are 3.2-in (8 cm) wide in the rear and 3.5 in (9 cm) wide in the front. The motors are part of the Mercedes High Performance Electric Drive Unit (HP.EDU) assembly in the back of the vehicle, which includes a single-stage planetary gearbox within the same assembly. The pump control unit for the cooling system also resides within the assembly with the motor and gearbox.

"We took the powertrain concept of our record-breaking concept, AMG GT XX, and transferred it into this serial production vehicle," David Storr, electric drive component engineer for Mercedes-AMG, told SAE Media.

Each motor is coupled with a water-cooled silicon carbide (SiC) inverter. Mercedes says that the liquid is ideal for high voltages, currents, and temperature environments due to its thermal conductivity. Mercedes says the front motor acts as a booster that's only put into use when additional power and traction are necessary, as well as for regenerative braking. The motor itself is decoupled during most driving.

EV go vroooom

For those interested in the performance of an EV but miss the visceral feeling of a V8, Mercedes AMG has got you covered. The AMG GT 4-Door Coupe EV ships with a V8 roar that's based on the engine notes of the AMG GT R (C190). The rumbling of a V8 can be heard and felt from within the vehicle during startup. Mercedes debated what sounds to add to the vehicle and hired a group to come up with the noise. After some initial sound designs, the group eventually ended up working with the AMG team to recreate the specific V8 sound.

The sound is felt as well as heard with actuators in the seats that add a small bit of vibration. For those outside the vehicle, the front headlights also double as speakers. Mercedes said that the sound will adjust in accordance with how the vehicle is being driven. We'll report back when we get time behind the wheel of the vehicle.

The interior is a driver-centric affair with additional controls to fine-tune the driving experience (Mercedes-Benz)

Fast car, fast charging

The AMG.EA architecture – built specifically for the performance brand of Mercedes – supports DC fast charging up to 600kW at an 800-volt charging station. The vehicle itself is based on an 800-volt architecture that was built from learnings the company gleaned from the AMG-ONE hypercar and Formula 1. The result is a charge rate that the automaker says can take the 106kWh battery pack from 10 to 80% in about 11 minutes via the SAE J3400 (NACS) charging port. At 400-volt stations, the vehicle will top out at 350kW. Good luck finding a 400-volt DC fast charging station that delivers 350kW.

Let's go

Let's table the "coupe" debate for now and note that while this is a four-door sports car, the vehicle's electric platform actually allows it to support four full-size adults while looking stunning. The AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is likely the result of Mercedes learning that an EV just needs to look like a Mercedes (in this case, a Mercedes-AMG) and not like a vehicle from the future or a bulbous vehicle with more interest in aerodynamics than design.

"It's so different from what was there before, it was really like reinventing what Mercedes AMG could be in the future," Mercedes group chief design officer Bastian Baudy told SAE Media.

The three-point star found in the lights of nearly every new Mercedes can be found in the headlights and in the rear on the 4-Door Coupe EV. The grille is accented with light-up vertical bars, accenting the car’s overall look that hints at a menacing beast. The rear adds six more stars along with a lightbar that hugs the upper contour of the rear. Above the light bar is a retractable spoiler with a retractable diffuser that extends from the bottom of the vehicle when necessary.

Inside, the cockpit is driver-centric with the infotainment screen tilted towards the person behind the wheel. A passenger screen is also present, as it is in most new Mercedes. For fans of tactile items, actual toggles and rollers can be found on the AMG steering wheel. While in the center console, AMG has added three knobs: Response, Agility, and Traction. The driver can dial those knobs up or down individually and with far more precision than the usual Sport or Race modes. The EV also has Sport and Race modes, along with a Sport+ mode.

The Response knob controls electric-motor response to the accelerator. Dial it up for immediate power, dial down for a more comfortable setting. Agility "adjusts agility around the vertical axis" and power distribution. The vehicle can be set to understeer, neutral, or oversteer. Finally, the Traction knob adjusts, you guessed it, traction along nine stages.

The rear of the vehicle includes an active rear spoiler and diffuser. (Mercedes-Benz)

Two flavors

The AMG GT 4-Door Coupe EV will be available in two trim levels. The AMG GT 55 ships with AMG Ride Control+ air suspension. The AMG GT 63 4-Door Coupe comes with AMG Active Ride Control. The GT 63 also comes standard with the rotary control dials. Both vehicles will be available with rear-wheel steering.

While peak power in the GT 63 is 1,153 hp (860 kW), the vehicle's continuous horsepower is 711 hp (530 kW). The GT 50 in boost will hit 805 hp (600 kW) and 1,328 lb-ft (1,800 Nm) during regular driving, that number is more restrained 503 hp (375 kW).

As an electric replacement for the gas-powered GT, AMG needs this vehicle to speak to the automaker's customers.

"Above all, there is the brand. The brand is what makes us so successful. The brand is what is actually loved by our customers, and we cannot do something that has a negative impact on our brand," Mercedes-AMG CEO Michael Schiebe noted in a roundtable discussion.

The AMG GT Four-Door Coupe EV will be available in the United States by the end of the year.

Topics:
Automotive Electrification Electronic Components Thermal Management

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    Transcript

    00:00:00 When you think Mercedes AMG, you think of a large engine and a powerful vehicle. Well, this is a powerful vehicle, but does not have a large engine. Because in fact, this is the AMG four-door coupe and it is electric. This new electric vehicle coming from Mercedes-Benz is on a 800vt architecture and it's actually has its own platform. AMG has their own AMG platform in order

    00:00:33 to build this vehicle and when it hits the market, it's going to do 0 to 60 in about 2.1 seconds. How is this vehicle so quick? Well, it has two electric motors here in the rear and one in the front. It is a tri motor vehicle. And it's not just quick on the road. It's also quick when you go to charge. It'll charge it up to 600 kW on an 800vt charging station. At a 400vt

    00:01:00 charging station, it'll charge it up to 350 kW. So, still really, really fast. In the AMG GT63, the three axle flux motors can output up to 1,153 horsepower at peak boost. Continuous horsepower for the trim level is 711. Torque for the vehicle is 1,475 lb feet. For the AMG GT50, the three motors will output 805 boost horsepower with 503

    00:01:31 horsepower of continuous output. Now, that trim level's torque is 1,328 lb feet. One of the cool things is that to keep this vehicle on the road as you're flying down, say, the Autobond, it has active aerodynamics. This is actually a rear spoiler, it comes up and then it has a rear diffuser that comes out to about here. So if you're flying down the

    00:01:55 autobond at say 200 kilometers an hour, 230 kilometers an hour wherever you're driving that quickly really Germany legally u you are going to be able to stay on the road thanks to the active uh aerodynamics on this vehicle. Let's talk really quickly about the design of this vehicle especially the lights. You know Mercedes is doing a lot with the three stars here in the light.

    00:02:20 I really like these lights. Uh the front is a little flat, but you you can also have these lights. The logo lights up and come around here in the back. You still get the threepointed star. And these really I really love the lights back here on the back of this vehicle. These right here, you get these three of them. You have this nice light bar. When you have a turn signal, it comes out of

    00:02:45 here. The light signature here on the back of this vehicle is really nice. And I really do love the design of the vehicle. It looks very modern, very sleek. And one of the great things about Mercedes sort of, you know, continuing to bring EVs to the market is that they're bringing EVs to the market that's just look like cars. They're not trying to make some sort of space

    00:03:08 spaceship. They're not trying to go crazy. You know, the EQS lineup, you know, the first uh vehicles are pretty bulbous. This is definitely not that. If this had a gas engine in it, it it would Yeah, it you you could see this with a gas engine, but it will have uh three electric motors. Inside the vehicle, you still get that AMG experience. You have the drive

    00:03:32 select here on the steering wheel. You have a lot of carbon fiber. What's really cool is that you have these three dials, so you can dial up and down three different aspects of the vehicle. You can do response, you can do agility, and you can do traction. So, you can actually dial down your traction, you know, if you want to drift. Uh, you can you adjust your agility. I really like

    00:03:51 it's it's it's more than just changing the sport mode or just saying something's on or off. You have levels that you can change on this vehicle for its driving dynamics. Uh, again, it has the the the carbon fiber. It has your, you know, your typical AMG steering wheel. I do like the the new uh door handles. They are mechanical. They are not electronic. So you can get in and

    00:04:14 out of the car in case the 12volt battery dies. They just they just fit right in your hand. It's really nice. And it it allows uh Mercedes and AMG to have this nice clean uh top of the door where you just you know all you have here of course is your usual MercedesBenz um seat controls. Uh but there's also something else. People like EVs, but

    00:04:41 everyone wants that more visceral feeling that comes with having a vehicle. And EVs make, you know, funny little ice cream truck noises. Well, AMG decided, let's try something different. That is the actual noise of a V8 engine on a different vehicle that that AMG has recreated for this vehicle. You put in sport plus, boom, it sounds like a V8. and doesn't just sound inside the

    00:05:09 vehicle. It doesn't just sound like a V8. You can actually feel like the vibrations. Obviously, it's, you know, you're not getting that that uh that shake of the motor whenever you put your foot on the accelerator um from under the hood, but it does give you that little extra visceral feel. And there they have you can, you know, manually change gears. Uh they have uh we've seen

    00:05:33 this onion Ionic 5N. They're going to have this on here in as well. You go up, go down. Also, uh if you need to pass somebody, you can pull both of these and get a really nice boost in order to pass someone. So, it really is the AMG experience that you're used to, but from an EV that happens to sound like a V8 for some important reason to a lot of people.

    00:06:04 One of the really interesting aspects when we talked to uh the AMG team is that EVs can go really fast in a straight line. You can throw uh a motor in a a battery and essentially anything and go 0 to 60 in 3 seconds. What's going to set this apart, they say, is essentially like the chassis control, the experience, that visceral experience. But I'm really excited to

    00:06:25 try this vehicle out and see how well it does on a track, which is, you know, that is the AMG experience for a lot of people. And so, we'll have more information about pricing, availability, uh, range from the EPA, uh, closer to the launch of this vehicle. And for videos from AMG's infinite hollow mirrors about electrification, batteries, and EVs, be sure to subscribe

    00:06:48 to SA Media Group's YouTube channel.

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