The current king of range in electric vehicles is Lucid Air which can drive 520 miles (837 km) in a single charge. Today, Mercedes-Benz claims to have broken the record with a 1000 km (621 km) per charge sedan which is yet to be rated officially by the USA’s EPA or the European equivalent. Meet the Vision EQXX concept, the car that achieves this amazing engineering feat.
With this kind of range, the EQXX can theoretically drive from from Berlin, Germany, to Paris, France, without needing to plug in. Mercedes claims the average American driver would only need to recharge the sedan twice a month. The automaker had to design the whole car from scratch in just 18 months with one goal : efficiency. A lot of technologies and tweaks went into the sedan to achieve this kind of range without using an extra large battery.
The Concept car has an ultra-low drag coefficient of just 0.18. The body is smooth and has a teardrop shape running from the roof to the tail. The body is ultra slippery to slice through the air with ease. There are also wheel covers for better aerodynamics. The rear incorporates a diffuser that deploys at high speeds but fits seamlessly into the body when not in use.
Mercedes didn’t want to simply slap a huge battery into the car to give it more range, that would make it more expensive to produce and also add unnecessary weight. The battery and the frame that carries it weighs around 1,091 pounds (495 kilograms). Exact battery details were not revealed, but they said it is less than 100 kilowatt-hours. The pack also has 50 percent less volume and is 30 percent lighter than the one in the EQS sedan they launched a while ago. The total mass of the sedan is 3858 pound (1749 kgs) which is lighter than the long range version of the Tesla Model 3 (4,072 lb or 1,847 kg).
The EQXX has a solar panel roof option that can add 15 miles (25 km) of range, however, charge from the panel will be stored in a separate battery and will mostly be used to power the car’s blower fan, lights, infotainment, and other ancillaries effectively saving the juice from the main battery pack which in turn adds the extra range.
Powering the concept car will be a single motor which outputs 201 horsepower. Mercedes claims that the powertrain is so efficient that 95 percent of the energy ends up at the wheels.
Speaking of wheels, they were made in partnership with Bridgestone to make them have ultra low rolling resistance which further increases efficiency.
The sedan has a length of roughly 182.3 inches (463 centimeters) and a wheelbase of 110.2 inches (280 centimeters). For comparison, the latest C-Class is 187 inches (475 centimeters long) and rides on a 112.8-inch (286.51-centimeter) wheelbase.
Inside the EQXX is a huge one piece curved screen that spans 47.5 inches (120.6 centimeters) from the drivers side to the front passengers end. It has an 8k resolution and runs a navigation system with 3d graphics.
Ambient lights strips are present too like in the EQS and the S Class. The seats and interior elements are made using sustainable materials such as vegan leather that comes from mushrooms, animal-free leather from pulverized cactus fibers, and bamboo-based carpets.
