Mercedes-Benz
- Mercedes-AMG just shattered multiple EV endurance records with its GT XX sedan.
- Boasting 1341 horsepower and the ability to charge at up to 900 kW, the two cars lapped at above 180 mph.
- Over 24 hours, the team managed to cover 3405 miles, then went on to reach a distance that could lap the Earth in under eight days.
When the 1341-hp Mercedes-AMG GT XX EV sedan dropped in June of this year, the potential as a rival to the Porsche Taycan EV was obvious. Yes, the big orange Merc’ was a concept, but apart from a few styling choices here and there, it looked entirely production ready. However, any fan of Mercedes history might have recognized a bit of unusual heritage baked into this statement of AMG’s future: a livery and design very similar to the record-setting experimental C-111 from the 1970s. Turns out the resemblance was no accident, as the GT XX has just set its own records for the EV age.Mercedes-Benz Group AG|Car and DriverRunning at the Nardò test track in Italy, the GT XX (actually two of them) ran for just under eight days, setting more than half a dozen endurance speed records along the way. Running nonstop apart from up to 900-kW rapid charges, the faster of the two cars running managed to cover a distance of 3405 miles in 24 hours. That’s a new world record, just shy of 1000 miles better than the previous record holder, the Chinese Xpeng P7, and almost a third better than Mercedes’s own CLA.Mercedes-BenzMercedes-AMG’s motorsports experience was key to the attempt, with professional drivers and pit crew from the company’s GT3 efforts. Using 17 drivers split into three eight-hour shifts of five drivers each (with two in reserve), the teams managed to hit the 24,907-mile mark in just over seven and a half days of continuous lapping. The significance of that number? It’s the circumference of the Earth.Mercedes-BenzMercedes-BenzAmong the drivers was none other than Mercedes-Petronas F1 driver George Russell. According to an Instagram post from Russell, he was seeing speeds of around 186 mph, with charging pit stops of just one minute. Although it doesn’t make sense why they would pit to add a measly 15 kWh of energy.Taking a deeper look at the figures Mercedes has provided, the quicker of the two GT XXs averaged an impressive 136.6 mph, including stops, over the entire 25,000 miles. Since the company said the vehicles were cruising at 186 mph, the difference between the actual time and the theoretical time with no stops it would take to drive that distance is insightful. That number is 134.4 hours, versus the actual 183.0 hours, meaning the GT XX was stopped for a total of 48.6 hours, or roughly 1.9 hours per 1000 miles. Put another way, for every hour of driving, the car was stopped for roughly 22 minutes. If all that time was spent charging, which seems like a safe assumption, at 850 kW, that equates to 41,324 kWh or a consumption of 0.6 miles per kWh, which seems about right.Along with the 24-hour record, the GT XX clocked endurance records for 12, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, and 168 hours. A number of distance-traveled records were also set along the way.Mercedes-BenzAs the GT XX is a preview of Mercedes-AMG’s AMG.EA electric vehicle architecture, this kind of blistering speed will soon make its way to the road in a planned production sedan and crossover over the next couple of years. The gullwinged C-111 never matured into a proper world-beating production sports car. With this GT XX, however, Mercedes-AMG is putting the likes of Porsche on notice.Broken Records
- Lucid Sets World Record Drive on a Single Charge
- 2026 BMW M2 CS Sets ‘Ring Record for a Compact Car
- Chevy Silverado EV Went 1059 Miles on a Charge
Brendan McAleerContributing EditorBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
Source: caranddriver.com
