The Vision EQXX Would Be So Smug Right Now!
An expected reaction after clocking 1,202km on a single charge.
Nowadays, most cars can respond to human voice commands by completing requests or fetching information. But what if the vehicle itself behaved like humans do? Think about the movie franchise ‘Cars’ for a reference point. How much fun it would have been if cars could react, talk and summon stuff! Say, all that actually happened. In that case, the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX would be so smug right now!
The reason for that unadulterated smugness is this: it covered more than 1,000km for the second time in real-world conditions. That too on a single battery charge. In its latest stint, the EV prototype travelled from Stuttgart (Mercedes-Benz’s headquarters in Germany) to Silverstone (a race track in the UK). Before running out of juice, it clocked 1,202km. That is an astonishing figure, considering the car was on public roads, and a racecar driver even caned it on an F1 circuit. After reaching the famous race track, it completed 11 laps at the hands of the Mercedes-EQ Formula E racing driver Nyck de Vries. The Dutchman didn’t hold back as he clocked 140kmph (the car’s electronically-limited top speed) at every opportunity he got.Â
For the record, the Vision EQXX travelled 1,008km in April this year, from Stuttgart to Cassis (France). During its trip to France, the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX used the French Mediterranean coast. While temperatures varied from 3 to 18 degrees celsius, the journey also included tackling zig-zag roads in the Alps. It completed the trip with 140km of range remaining.
This time, however, things were different. There was traffic around Stuttgart and in the southeast of England, and the temperatures went up to 30 degrees celsius. Of course, both scenarios equate to significant challenges for a car on an efficiency test run. But, the Vision EQXX used its clever aero and the thermal management system to keep the powertrain in its most efficient condition.
Keeping the car’s internals cool is one thing, but what about the cabin? During the 14 hours and 30 minutes of driving, the air conditioning was in use for a little over eight hours. And the average speed for the trip was 83kmph.
Specifications? The Mercedes-Benz EQXX has an electrical system that supports over 900 volts, taking juices from a battery of less than 100kWh (usable). With an unladen weight of 1,755km and 241bhp on tap, it can hit, as mentioned above, 140kmph before running into the electronic speed nannies.
Do you want to see the car in the flesh? You can do so at the ongoing Goodwood Festival of Speed.
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