Electrive writes that the battery-powered G-Class is powered by four electric motors, located close to the wheels, an unconventional setup compared to traditional EVs, that have the electric motor(s) either in the front, the rear or both, just like a combustion-powered vehicle.
According to Mercedes, this is done to improve the traction per wheel in off-road situations, albeit most G-Class drivers rarely leave the asphalt in their otherwise capable SUVs.
Each electric motor has 108 kW of power, which in total amounts to 432 kW and the torque surpassed 1.100 Nm. Acceleration to 100 km/h happens in 4.7 seconds and the top speed is limited electronically to 180 km/h, due to efficiency and range.
The electric G-Class still features a mechanical "low-range" gear for these off-road situations where speed isn't key, but rather maneuverability and precision.
The electric G-Class, being essentially a brick, is no efficiency champion, especially in the EV market, which is why the German carmaker opted for a massive 116kWh battery pack, which is only able to render 473 kilometers of WLTP range. This means that the energy consumption per 100 km is around 27-30 kWh. By contrast, the consumption I managed to get in the recently-tested Megane E-Tech was shy over 23 kWh, while I didn't drive the car in an economic matter at all and that vehicle is able to render the same range as the G-Class with just a 60kWh battery.
Back to the electric G-Class, it will be able to charge at a speed of 200 kW on a DC station, so 10-80% charging range should happen in around 32 minutes.
With an 11kW AC connector, the car will take roughly 12 hours to juice up. As expected, the G-Class electric will be an expensive model, starting at an eye-watering 142.000 euros in Germany.
Photo source: Mercedes-Benz
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