Mercedes’ expansive lineup of EVs covers most segments of the car market, from small crossovers (EQA) to large executive sedans (EQS SUV), but one thing missing from its lineup is a sporty four-door, four-seat rival to the Porsche Taycan.
You can, of course, buy AMG versions of the EQE and EQS sedans, but they look very dull, and nothing like as cool as the 2019 Vision EQS concept that presaged them. And there’s the AMG GT 4, but that’s only available with combustion or hybrid power, so isn’t on the radar of EV fans.
But we know Mercedes and its AMG division are working on a fix for that because it said as much by revealing the Vision AMG concept last year. Designed around the new AMG.EA electric architecture that will form the basis of an entire family of new EVs starting in 2025, the 5,100 mm (200.7 inches) concept was a low-slung four-door coupe that bore more than a passing resemblance to a Porsche Taycan, as well as Merc’s earlier 2022 concept, the EQXX.
Related: Mercedes Vision AMG Concept Previews Porsche Taycan Electric Sedan Rival Coming In 2025
The performance-focused Vision AMG concept featured much more muscular fenders than the non-AMG EQXX, whose focus was on creating a slippery shape to maximize range, and the wide tracks of the two EQE test cars we see in these new spy shots suggest they could be mules for the AMG car. Being mules, there’s not much else the bodies can tell us about how the real thing will look, but sources close to Mercedes said at the time of the Vision AMG’s launch that the concept’s tailpipe-style brake lights might actually make it to production. Whether the show car’s star-shaped headlights will also make the cut, we don’t yet know.
The long wheelbase will allow Mercedes to fit a slim under-floor battery pack that will in turn enable it to keep the roofline low, and the battery itself, along with the charging system and motors, is sure to be a generation ahead of the hardware offered in today’s Mercedes EVs.
The company bought British electric motor startup Yasa in 2021 to use the firm’s light, compact axial-flux motor tech on its AMG.EA platform and that’s what it claimed was fitted to this year’s Vision One-Eleven supercar concept. Rumors suggest the final production version of the prototype seen here could be packing around 1,000 hp (1,014 PS), which would mean it had as much muscle as a Tesla Model S Plaid, but was potentially much lighter.
Right now it looks like Porsche is gearing up for an assault on the production EV lap record at the Nurburgring currently held by Tesla. The two companies have been trading honors for the past few years, but come 2025 it looks like they’re both going to have to face a new rival because whether this car is the AMG Vision made real, or merely a crazy wide-track AMG Black-Series version of the EQE sedan, something exciting is coming.
