The new SLS AMG E-CELL, a product of cooperation between Mercedes and AMG, has a number of features guaranteed to get fans of electric performance hot under the collar.

EV lovers are drooling over the red-hot pix of the E-CELL electric drivetrain that Mercedes released this week. The new SLS AMG E-CELL, a product of cooperation between Mercedes and AMG, has a number of features guaranteed to get fans of electric performance hot under the collar.

Four synchronous electric motors, with a peak output of 392 kW and torque of 880 Nm, are located near the wheels. According to Mercedes, this arrangement results in substantially reduced unsprung mass compared with wheel-hub motors, while still offering permanent all-wheel drive. According to the AMG developers, "torque vectoring" allows the individual control of the electric motors, which greatly improves handling. The 48-kWh liquid-cooled battery pack is comprised of 12 modules, each with 72 lithium-ion polymer cells.

Every component of this striking gull-wing sports car is designed for light weight and a low center of gravity, from the aluminum body shell to the carbon-fiber monocoque which houses the battery pack to the ceramic brake discs, which are 40 percent lighter than cast iron discs. And the result? The SLS E-CELL leaps from zero to 60 in four seconds, only two tenths of a second slower than the SLS model with a 6.3-litre V8.

Mercedes plans to launch a small production run of the SLS AMG E-CELL in 2013.

Images: Daimler AG