2014 Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell Caught Testing, Coming Soon

The Mercedes SLS is the car dreams are made of, with its gullwing doors and gas-guzzling 563 horsepower V8 engine. Yet even one of the fastest cars in the luxury automaker’s lineup stands to get a green makeover. Next year, the 2014 Mercedes SLR AMG E-Cell is set to hit dealerships, and spy shots reveal that the final product seems close to being finished.

Motor Authority’s spies caught pictures of the Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell(so many abbreviations for a single car) testing around Germany’s Nurburgring. Mercedes-Benz will be bringing its zero emissions grand touring coupe to the market for around $300,000, and it will be just a 0.2 seconds slower than its petrol-chugging cousin.

The spy pics, which you’ll have to check out on Motor Authority, reveal a car that looks similar save for a lack of tailpipes. It is still the same gorgeous Mercedes SLS AMG that every car guy dreams of driving, if not owning. Even with a limited top speed of around 150 mph, the specs on the

While Mercedes has been mostly mum on tidbits like range, that’s because the 569 horsepower and 600+ ft-lbs of torque don’t leave a lot of room for “grand touring.” Still, Mercedes is taking a big chance with the E-Cell, though it won’t be alone in the market. The Audi R8 e-tron and BMW i8 will both offering an electric luxury driving experience, and probably for less money. Perhaps the Daimler’s alliance with Tesla Motors (Daimler owns Mercedes) will pay off for the SLS E-Cell and give it an edge over the competition.

Then again, Tesla has set a high bar for all-electric range, and the performance of the Model S sedan is about on par with the Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell. Withrumors of a tri-turbo diesel Mercedes SLS shot down, the E-cell represents a bold move to go all-electric versus a more-popular-and-proven drivetrain. At such a high cost though, if the range isn’t up to par, why not go buy a Tesla Model S that is $200,000 cheaper?

Source: Motor Authority

Mercedes A-Class going electric with Tesla's help; for real this time?

Reports of Mercedes-Benz and Tesla building an electric A-Class together are nothing new. In fact, a fleet of 500 A-Class-based E-Cells was built for Europe. Most recently, a Tesla earnings report revealed that Tesla was still working on an all-electric powertrain for an unnamed EV for Daimler, the evolution of a deal that began when Daimler invested in the Silicon Valley automaker in 2009. The two automakers also worked together on the Smart ED.

So, what's this then in a Dutch website? A report on Groen7 says that "a source at Tesla" has revealed that the previously unnamed EV Tesla is busy with (among other things) is an updated, electric version of the new A-Class, one that will perhaps arrive in 2013. We had previously guessed the secret Tesla-Daimler deal would result in an all-electric B-Class, but being wrong there won't stop us from trying to predict the future again: the hints are present that this next A-Class EV will remain a small-scale project. We hope we're proved wrong. 


Source: Autoblog Green