Mercedes-Benz did not just build the Vision EQXX to put on a nice show in a one-time demonstration. They built it to test the technology that has turned it into what the German carmaker calls the most efficient car in the world. But is it?
Carwow’s Mat Watson started off to find an answer to that question. Is the car that Mercedes revealed in January at CES the world’s most efficient?
Not long ago, it covered 747 miles (1,202 kilometers) on a single charge, from Stuttgart, Germany, to the Silverstone racetrack in the UK. It is the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team test track, so any three-pointed star logo holder should feel at home here.
A 100-kWh battery pack, like in the EQS 450+, stores the energy. But the pack takes up 50% less space and is 30% lighter. Weight reduction and optimized aerodynamics is how Mercedes managed to achieve such efficiency. Just a brief reminder: it has a record-breaking drag coefficient of only 0.17. Meanwhile, the EQS stops at 0.20 and that’s the lowest drag coefficient of any series production model.
Furthermore, there are also 117 solar cells on the roof of the Vision EQXX that provide the concept with extra 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) of driving range.
The EQXX is not exactly a sports car, because that is not what Mercedes designed it for. Keep in mind that there is just one 180-kW electric motor that does all the job.
Now the EQXX goes back to Silverstone for a new test, in the hands of Carwow’s Mat Watson. The one keeping him company is a Mercedes engineer.
Together they put the concept through a 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) routine. How much it took the concept to hit that, it is for you to see in the video below.
Hint: the figures the Mercedes Vision EQXX achieves might be quite disappointing.
And one more thing: there’s a “lady” on board. What is she up to? See down below.
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