Electric vehicles have been breaking records lately, with each manufacturer putting forward new benchmarks in an attempt to take the top spot in a highly competitive, ever-changing market. Mercedes-Benz is one of the key frontrunners in the EV space, vying to showcase what they can do with their new EV architecture, AMG.EA. This upcoming high-performance platform was put to the test in the AMG GT XX concept, which was sent around the world in a record eight days.
Actually driving the new concept EV around the world is as impractical as it seems, and so Mercedes instead opted to take the AMG GT XX around the high-speed Nardo test track in Italy. The car covered a total of 40,075 km in under eight days, a distance equivalent to circling the planet. In doing so, the automaker claims it managed to break 25 long-distance EV records. Among these was the record for the greatest distance ever covered by an electric vehicle within 24 hours, with the concept clocking in 5,479 km – 1,518 km more than the previous record.
How did Mercedes-AMG conduct the test?
The test lasted longer than 24 hours and required a team of 17 drivers, including Formula One team driver George Russel. The crew additionally comprised a range of support staff, including 24/7 fire and rescue personnel, mechanics and other members. In the attempt to set these benchmarks, drivers had to maintain a constant speed of 300 kmph, stopping only to recharge at power levels averaging around 850 kW.
Mercedes claims the record distance of 40,075 was covered in exactly 7 days, 13 hours, 24 minutes and 07 seconds or 3,177 laps of the 12.68‑kilometre Nardò circuit. Drivers were put on 2-hour shifts around the clock, with the AMG GT XX concept averaging more than 5,300 km per day.
Mercedes-AMG GT XX concept:
The AMG GT XX is based on the upcoming, high-performance AMG.EA platform, built as an 800-volt EV architecture. The concept EV employs three axial-flux electric motors that are housed in two high-performance electric drive units (HP.EDU) on both front and rear axles. This allows power to be transferred to all four wheels.
The motors are powered by a liquid-cooled battery pack, inspired by Formula 1. This unit uses newly developed cylindrical NCMA cells, which offer efficient cooling and a high energy density of over 300 Wh/kg. With this setup, the AMG GT XX can deliver more than 1,360 bhp, which overtakes the Lucid Air but falls short of the 1,548 bhp Xiaomi SU7 Ultra.
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