What Mercedes is doing with the Vision EQXX is groundbreaking. The engineers in the group are already considering using the findings from the study for series production in the near future. We have already driven the fascinating concept.
If you will, the Vision EQXX is a bit like a Mercedes 200 D - only transferred to modern times. Since the Mercedes fin era at the end of the 200s, the "XNUMX D" label has stood for extreme economy, but also for slowness. Memories of that come up when you read the datasheet that the Vision EQXX only reached a top speed of 140 km/h. But that's only half the truth, because you won't let him. It could do more than 300 km/h, and that with an output of just 180 kW/245 hp, which is quite modest by today's standards. You don't have to be a physics genius to guess how aerodynamic the test EQ must be: cD 0,17! But the extraordinary sedan shines with other characteristics. The test vehicle weighs just 1.755 kilograms and is a real lightweight among e-cars. Finally snooze 100 kWh battery capacity under the shimmering silver outer skin.
Now Mercedes has invited people to experience the concept themselves at the wheel. He has already proven that the group trusts the EQXX to do quite a few routes. for one test drive the developers responsible have already been allowed to drive from Sindelfingen to southern France. In doing so, the EQXX not only had to simply cover the distance, but also overcome quite demanding passages such as the Alps. Not that that's a problem, but the vehicle techs have Road trip with an average consumption of 8,7 kWh completed. A second trip from Stuttgart to Silverstone in the UK could even be managed with 8,3 kWh per 100 kilometers - so the battery lasted for a breathtaking 1.200 kilometers.
We weren't allowed to cover that many kilometers with the rolling eye-catcher, but after just a few kilometers we found out that it was stingy with electricity consumption but by no means with driving pleasure. Distinctive boost from low tempi make the corners of the mouth twitch quickly. However: that EQXX you can tell immediately. Simple seats and a rather rough chassis rob the prototype of any residual comfort. Some things have to be flat – for minimum consumption. Tires in the so-called narrow format of the dimension 185/65 R20 in combination with extremely smooth rim surfaces should offer the wind as little surface as possible. The engineers are particularly proud of the fact that they were able to do without wheel covers that were visually disturbing. In return, they give him a solar roof to take with him, which ideally produces electricity for a distance of 25 kilometers over a sunny day.
But which findings and possibly even components can be implemented in series production in the short or at least in the medium term? In order not to be completely empty-handed when it comes to this question, the Mercedes technicians stripped a standard GLC and gave it the Powertrain of the EQXX lost. The battery pack contains no magic technology, but the electrical engineers managed to drastically increase the energy density. With 400 watt hours per liter volume, the high-tech package stores twice as much electricity as current batteries can take, and Mercedes achieves weight savings of 30 percent.
Of course, the converted GLC still weighs well over two tons. High unladen weights are one of the biggest sticking points in electromobility. But in the later series, a car does not necessarily have to go with the Driving around 100 kWh pack, which the technicians have donated to the EQXX. Incidentally, Mercedes does not push it to the extreme when it comes to charging technology, leaving it at a moderate 100 kW. The argument of the Mercedes engineers: You don't have to charge the EQXX so hastily, because it can cover well over a thousand kilometers with one battery charge, depending on your driving style. If the same engineers manage to create a production car that combines relatively good aerodynamics with a fairly light 60 kWh battery, that would be a step further. The goals aren't even that unrealistic. So it remains exciting. In the Return in the EQE AMG from the Mercedes test center in Immendingen to Stuttgart - a business class in full series production - the display shows a range of almost 500 kilometers with a charge level of less than 90 percent.
Mercedes EQXX Vision - Specifications:
Test vehicle sedan, length: 4,98 meters, width: 1,87 meters, height: 1,35 meters, wheelbase: 2,80 meters
Electric machine, 180 kW/245 hp, one gear ratio, Vmax: 140 km/h, energy consumption: 8,3 kWh/100 km,