With each passing day, there’s more evidence that Electric Vehicles (EVs) will soon dominate new car dealerships within the next ten to twenty years. The innovations in battery technology are starting to kick into a higher gear as manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz tout longer-range vehicles, such as the new Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX Concept that claims a range of over 620 miles on a single charge.
Mercedes-Benz hopes to be among the first few automakers to make range anxiety a thing of the past or a thing that its loyal consumers never have to worry about in the first place by hinting towards a future of vehicles like this new Vision EQXX Concept that you see here that’s supposedly more efficient than any other EV on the current market and gets over 620 miles of range.
How does Mercedes-Benz muster over 620 miles of EV range out of the Vision EQXX Concept? Well, first, look at it! The Vision EQXX Concept looks like no other modern-day Mercedes-Benz giving it a remarkable drag coefficient of just 0.18. That’s unheard of in any street-legal vehicle! That drag coefficient is all part of the design shape and elongated rear end. Air is directed around the front wheels to form a curtain and keep the air attached to the side and flowing out back with reduced turbulence thanks to the long tail of the vehicle. There’s active aero, too – an active rear diffuser that lowers and extends around 40 mph to keep the air underneath equal to that of the air streaming off the top and sides.
The body is made of a large aluminum casting and reduces excess material through a patented process for a structure that replicates one of natural organisms for added strength and direct mounting points for the suspension and electric motor.
Speaking of the motor, what powers the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX Concept is a single 200-horsepower motor mounted at the rear to power the rear wheels. That may not seem like a lot of power but through clever weight reduction from the aluminum body structure to lightweight and ultra-low rolling resistance Bridgestone Turanza tires, the Vision EQXX Concept is claimed to have a battery that weighs 30% less than the one in the current Mercedes-Benz EQS. That weight saving is also in part thanks to the size of the Vision EQXX Concept, which is more on the compact size closer to a current Mercedes C-Class sedan. Basically, don’t let the long tail trick you, this is something much smaller than an S-Class! Mercedes has even done wild things like utilizing a lightweight top that is consisted of sugarcane waste reinforced with carbon fiber.
The battery pack is a smaller unit, one that will be just under 100 kWh. However, with a battery smaller than Tesla’s 100 kWh unit or the one in the 516-mile-range Lucid Air at 118-kWh, the Benz EQXX will make do with a smaller battery that couples with efficiency that’s unheard of – the EQXX’s drivetrain will be 95% efficient, meaning 95% of its power reaches the rear driving wheels.
Part of the astounding technology in the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX Concept comes from a bevy of tech advancements starting with Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrain (HPP) facility who are responsible for their Formula 1 powertrain that “almost” granted Lewis Hamilton another Championship to add to his 7-previous career championships. HPP is also responsible for helping to roll out the new Mercedes-AMG Project ONE hypercar, whenever we get to see THAT on public roads one day soon – it will be fast and amazing, trust us!
There are countless other technological advancements, many a first for any automobile, found in the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX Concept. The big questions arise: Will be a “real” car and if so, how much will it cost? To quickly answer, yes, we shall see some iterations of this concept with much of its tech used in future Mercedes-Benz EVs and it should be quite a comparable cost to other luxury EVs on the market. If anything, this concept gives us a better glimpse at future EV products from Mercedes. Word has it that this Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX Concept is street-legal ready – take that for whatever it is worth.
