Tesla, Lucid and Co.? Not because of: The new range champion comes from Stuttgart. With the Mercedes Vision EQXX, the brand wants to redefine electrical efficiency at CES 2022.
Fear of range was yesterday. With the Mercedes Vision EQXX the inventor of the automobile conjures up a concept car at the electronics fair CES Las Vegas 2022 that promises ranges of over 1000 kilometers on one battery charge. Even if this has only been possible in computer simulations so far, Mercedes promises to achieve these fabulous values ​​not only on the test bench, but also on the road. With this, the brand underscores its claim to want to play a decisive role in shaping the electric future of the automobile.
Because the silver eccentric is nothing less than a technological beacon – only that it is now burning on the back burner. 1000 kilometers may sound impressive, but in itself it is not a great achievement, admits Klaus Millerferli, who was the man who held the strings on this project. Because Tesla can do it, Lucid or some Chinese brands with ridiculously large batteries as well as particularly savvy economy drivers: inside with joyless sneaking too. “The trick is to do it with a rather small battery and at high speed, in real traffic,” explains Millerferli and therefore draws attention to a value that is much more meaningful than the range: consumption.
Mercedes has halved that compared to the EQS, reduced it to less than ten kilowatt hours per 100 kilometers and thus transferred the idea of ​​the one-liter car to electromobility. explains Millerferli and therefore draws attention to a value that is much more meaningful than the range: consumption. Mercedes has halved that compared to the EQS, reduced it to less than ten kilowatt hours per 100 kilometers and thus transferred the idea of ​​the one-liter car to electromobility.
MERCEDES VISION EQXX AT CES 2022
To achieve this, Mercedes pulled out all the stops and brought all the experts on board: “With the Vision EQXX, the best minds from our research and development centers worked together with the engineers from our Formula 1 and Formula E teams,” says Chief Development Officer Markus Schäfer. In just 18 months they delivered an impressive result.
The greatest contribution to maximum efficiency is made by the aerodynamics, which are even more sophisticated than the EQS – and with a drag coefficient of 0.20, it is already the world champion among production cars. The fact that the Mercedes Vision EQXX (2022) scores 0.03 points better is due to the flat silhouette of the almost five-meter-long four-door car, the barely visible but noticeably retracted track, the almost fully encased wheels, which make closed wheelhouses, such as in the VW XL1, superfluous, and above all at the slim rear end, which comes pretty close to the ideal of the teardrop shape.
This is especially true when the floor spoiler extends to the sharp spoiler edge along the circumferential taillights and aerodynamically stretches the car by a further 15 centimeters. It is no coincidence that this is reminiscent of the 2015 Concept IAA, in which Mercedes used this trick before. Of course, the drive, which is designed for 150 kW and speeds of up to 140 km / h, has also been optimized to the maximum – especially the battery.
It still relies on lithium-ion cells and, at around 100 kWh, has a capacity similar to that of the EQS, but now also fits into a small car – and the next EQA. It is not for nothing that the Mercedes Vision EQXX (2022) only has a 2.8 meter wheelbase. The Swabians halved the size of the battery, reduced the weight by a third and also increased the operating voltage to an unrivaled 900 volts.
There is also an optimized cell chemistry, improved power electronics, a housing made of carbon instead of aluminum and an improved electric motor. With the new miracle of efficiency, only five percent of the energy should be lost between the battery and the asphalt.or on the subject: This is CES 2022
RANGE OF THE MERCEDES VISION EQXX (2022)
Because the drive is so efficient, the Mercedes Vision EQXX (2022) also needs almost no cooling, which in turn helps with the air flow and further rasps the drag coefficient: The little bit of waste heat is equalized by an absolutely flat cooling plate on the vehicle floor. Only under full load, for example on a mountain pass, does a blind in the front open and let a cooling air flow into the bow. It then does not exit through the wheel arches, but through the bonnet.
That looks cooler and prevents the meticulously composed currents around the wheels with their perfectly flat hubcaps, which are optimized up to the sidewall lettering of the tires in the wind tunnel. Although the EQXX stands for the future of the electric car, it looks surprisingly contemporary. Unlike previous research vehicles, there is a realistic, tangible outlook on the next generation of vehicles.
This applies to the design as well as to the interior – even if the infotainment in particular is literally the “next level”. Measured against the display stretched across the cockpit, the hyperscreen of the EQS, which has just been celebrated as high-tech, looks like a tube TV again and makes its graphics look almost museum-like, that’s how fascinating the new pixel fireworks are. You will certainly not get bored on the promised 1000 kilometers. It’s just a shame that it is already comparatively tight at the front and that you don’t want to imagine guests in the back seats on long stretches.
The development team doesn’t mind that such a huge display and all the processors behind it usually need a lot of energy. First of all, of course, it builds in particularly economical chips, secondly, only those pixels are supplied with power that are currently needed, and thirdly, it taps the sun for infotainment just like for the rest of the on-board network: solar cells on the roof provide enough energy for it Project manager Millerferli promises all secondary consumers that are usually attached to the twelve-volt battery.
Mercedes excludes series production and prefers to provide input for the successor to the EQA or EQC based on MMA (modular architecture for compact and mid-range), which will start around 2026. Nevertheless, the carmaker still has big plans for the one-off: It’s not for nothing that the car will be street legal, says Millerferli and looks forward to the spring of 2022, when the sleek silver disc should go on a record run. So that it succeeds the prototype is currently shuttling between the wind tunnel, test bench and test track. There is no time for a trade fair appearance in Las Vegas: That’s why only a dummy of the Mercedes Vision EQXX is basking in the spotlight at CES 2022.
