Back in the early 2010s, manufacturers were just beginning to dip their toes into electric vehicle production, and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive might be the most fascinating forerunner of the EV revolution. Originally debuted as a concept car, dubbed the SLS E-Cell, it would later go into production in 2013 as the SLS Electric Drive, boasting thoroughly reengineered underpinnings and a whole lot of horsepower.
Propelled by four water-cooled synchronous electric motors for a total of 751 horsepower and 1000 Nm of torque, the SLS Electric Drive was one of the world’s fastest EVs when it hit the market, capable of hitting 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds and reaching an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph. With a T-shaped 60 kWh battery located along the centre tunnel and behind the seats, the SLS Electric Drive certainly wasn’t immune to range anxiety due to its limited range of 155 miles under ideal conditions, with actual range falling quite a bit short of that should you decide to drive it like an AMG product deserves to be driven.
To make room for all the electronics, the wizards in Affalterbach had to develop a custom front end for the chassis with advanced pushrod suspension. There was even an F1-style energy recuperation system in place, allowing the car to recover charge during deceleration while simultaneously reducing the load on the carbon ceramic disc brakes. Despite the cutting edge tech, the SLS Electric Drive fell far short of its intended production run of 100 cars, with only 9 reported to have been delivered to private buyers and less than 13 built in total, making it by far the rarest SLS variant out there. This example was finished in 2013 in a subtle grey metallic over black specification. Originally delivered to Norway, this SLS shows just over 14,000 km and is currently available with Mechatronik.
