Mercedes-AMG defines the future of electrified driving performance



(April 1, 2021) With future drivetrain electrification, Mercedes-AMG combines superior performance and impressive driving dynamics with maximum efficiency. The development of future drive concepts will continue to benefit from the valuable experience gained from close cooperation with the Formula 1 experts at Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. The cooperation between the three performance specialists will intensify even further in 2021, reflected, among other things, in the bundling of motorsport activities.

Above all, however, the mutual transfer of knowledge also makes fascinating new AMG models possible, such as the Project ONE hyper car, which brings Formula 1 hybrid technology almost one-to-one to the road.

Further electrified road models will debut later this year. The new drive strategy rests on two pillars: the first being performance hybrids with a completely independent drive concept under the technology label E PERFORMANCE. The second pillar is formed by battery-electric AMG derivatives based on the new Mercedes Electric Vehicle Architecture (EVA) for luxury and premium-class vehicles. Extensive modifications to the drive, chassis, design and equipment will provide the hallmark AMG driving experience with all-electric drive.

"With our new drive strategy, we are transporting our hallmark DNA into an electrified future. Our performance hybrids, developed entirely in Affalterbach, will even surpass the driving dynamics of our current models and thus absolutely do justice to our new technology label E PERFORMANCE. With the all-electric derivatives based on the Mercedes-EQ models, we as Mercedes-AMG are also continuing to take off with the electrification of the portfolio. We are thus opening ourselves up to new target groups who can experience Mercedes-AMG as the Performance Luxury brand of the 21st century," said Philipp Schiemer, chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.

"Mercedes-AMG has always stood for top performance and maximum driving dynamics. When developing our new E PERFORMANCE hybrid strategy, it was therefore immediately clear that we would pursue an independent concept for AMG. The layout with the combustion engine at the front and Electric Drive Unit on the rear axle offers numerous advantages. The resulting optimized weight distribution, the best possible utilization of torque and the very immediate power output promise driving dynamics at the highest level. Added to this is the High Performance Battery we developed, which boasts twice the power density of conventional drive batteries and, like many other components, is inspired by technology from Formula 1," says Jochen Hermann, chief technical officer of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.


The independent E PERFORMANCE drivetrain strategy is based on the guiding principle of developing an electrified drivetrain that further enhances the brand's signature Driving Performance and driving dynamics, while also being highly efficient. With the increase in performance from the additional electric motor, the development team was also able to improve the efficiency of the entire vehicle - and achieve lower emissions as well as lower consumption.

The exclusive vehicle architecture also offers the additional benefits of all-electric driving and external charging at a wall box, public charging station or household socket. In addition, electrification helps to maintain or even exceed today's high AMG performance level in the future, even with smaller combustion engines.

As a performance hybrid, the modular AMG concept combines the AMG eight-cylinder or four-cylinder engine with a permanently excited synchronous electric motor, a high- performance battery developed in Affalterbach and the fully variable AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive.

The electric motor (depending on the model series, up to 201 hp output and 236 lb ft torque) is positioned on the rear axle, where it is integrated with an electrically shifted two-speed transmission and the electronically controlled rear axle differential lock in a compact Electric Drive Unit (EDU). Experts refer to this layout as a P3 hybrid. The lightweight high-performance battery is located in the rear above the rear axle. This design results in numerous advantages especially for sports cars and performance models