Mercedes SLS AMG E-CELL hero

It's a gullwing Benz that flies like never before, thanks to an all-electric powertrain that makes a Mitsubishi iMiEV look as exciting as a golf cart with a flat battery.  The SLS AMG E-CELL is real, is headed for production, is more than just a toy, and is really quick.

It has a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 4.0 seconds, a top speed of more than 200km/h and a range of more than 250 kilometres.  The E-CELL superhero uses four individual electric motors linked to a 400-volt battery pack for an overall package uncorking 880 Newton-metres of torque and 392 kiloWatts of power.

The performance of the sparky new gullwing - splashed with lumilectric magno paint - is only a tick behind the regular V8-powered SLS AMG hero, the same coupe used to pace the racers in the Formula One world championship.

AMG began planning its E-CELL program from the earliest stages of the SLS project and that means minimal changes for the flagship sports model in the Mercedes-Benz range. Its aluminium spaceframe chassis is unchanged, although there are new front-suspension units with pushrod damper struts, a new instrument cluster and touch-screen control panel, and a more-aerodynamic nose.

AMG admits the E-CELL SLS is currently only at the prototype stage but it plans to have the car in showrooms in 2012, just two years after the first Australia deliveries of the 'regular' V8 Gullwing.  "We're putting the halo car into the electric vehicle sector. In the case of the SLS we wanted to demonstrate that you can go all the way," says Ole Kaellenius, the head of Mercedes AMG.

"It is definitely a pure performance vehicle. But we want to show you can have performance and address the green situation as well."  The E-CELL SLS was unveiled this week in Norway, where 99 per cent of the plug-in power for the car comes from renewable hydro-electric power. It will not make as much sense in Australia, where brown coal is the major source for electric generation, but Kaellenius says it's not his problem.

"We make cars, not decisions on infrastructure. Our end of the bargain is to make a zero-emission vehicle," he says.  Kaellenius also says the cradle-to-grave impact of the car is reduced because any SLS is likely to be a collector's car and will have a longer lifespan.

The technology in the E-CELL car includes a lithium-ion battery array - fitted into the regular V8 engine bay, behind the seats and inside the transmission tunnel - twin transaxle units, a massive computer controller, carbon-ceramic brakes as standard, and the potential for breakthrough dynamic controls.  "With an engine for each wheel, think what we can do for driving enjoyment, safety and control," Kaellenius says.

He rejects potential complaints that an electric car, even with motors spinning to 12,000 revs, cannot match the signature exhaust note of a highly-tuned V8 petrol engine.  "The V8 does sound nice. As a combustion engine fan I do like the sound," Kaellenius says.  "This has an interesting electric noise. It is an electrifying sound when it takes off like a rocket."

He will not go into detail on production of the E-CELL car, beyond the basics.  "We're looking at series production sometime towards the end of 2012, perhaps early in 2013.  "We're talking about a smaller series, but we won't communicate numbers at this stage. It looks like the interest might be quite large."

On the future prospects of battery cars, specifically on the AMG front, he will not be drawn. And he is not ruling out hybrids in addition to the existing petrol and diesel-fuel AMG hotrods.  It's maybe a little bit early to say. This is the first step. We will develop this technology and see where we go.  I'm not ruling out hybrids, but on the SLS we felt pure electric was the better option."