Mercedes-AMG Is Building An EV For People Who Hate EVs

"AMG released a video giving us a glimpse behind the scenes at how it's testing its new EV, hinting at what it will be capable of and what it took to hone its handling. It involves a lot of track driving, some of it with the car going very sideways with tire smoke billowing behind it, which is something you expect a true AMG to be able to pull off. This playful handling comes courtesy of the new AMG.EA dedicated EV architecture that isn't shared with Mercedes."

"It's a bespoke 800-volt platform for AMG EVs with two motors in the back, one for each wheel, and one powering the front axle. The motors are axial-flux from Yasa, which means they are about one-third the size and two-thirds the weight of traditional electric motors. Having two individual motors powering the rear wheels is part of the secret behind AMG making this car very good at pulling off spectacular drifts. It's all down to torque vectoring, which controls how much power each of the rear wheels receives, and precisely controlling this is what makes the four-door so naughty to drive."

"The other big part is that it makes over 1,000 horsepower, and, as Mercedes Formula 1 driver George Russel explains in the video, you don't need more than 40% acceleration to get the car to perform some pretty wild skids. You can control how crazy the handling is by turning the three dials on the center console. It has 1,000+ hp and simulates a V-8 complete with simulated gears and noise feedback through the seats."

AMG is testing its upcoming four-door GT EV with aggressive track driving, including sideways maneuvers that produce tire smoke. The vehicle uses the AMG.EA dedicated EV architecture, featuring a bespoke 800-volt platform not shared with Mercedes. It employs axial-flux motors from Yasa, with two rear motors and one front motor, enabling precise torque vectoring across the rear wheels. This setup supports dramatic drift behavior by controlling power distribution to each rear wheel. The EV is projected to deliver over 1,000 horsepower, with performance that can be triggered using limited acceleration. Simulated V-8 behavior includes simulated gears and noise feedback through the seats, and handling intensity can be adjusted using three center-console dials.

Read at insideevs.com