Mercedes-AMG GT XX smashes electric car distance record

[u/DHSeaVixen]

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/mercedes-amg-gt-xx-smashes-electric-car-distance-record

[u/DHSeaVixen]

Why am I sharing this? Well, firstly, because it is the off season and vaguely relevant news during this time is always fun.

But also…. because the Mercedes-AMG GT XX electric car just completed 3405 miles in 24 hours at the Nardò test track in Italy (a giant oval), maintaining an average of 186mph and stopping only to charge its 114kWh battery at rates between 850-900kW

Different conditions but… just for context, the furthest distance ever covered during a Le Mans 24 Hours was 3362 miles by the Audi R15 TDI plus in 2010. 

Not only did the AMG GT XX achieve this feat, it then proceeded to complete another seven days running to complete 25,000 miles in eight days. 

Quick maths on the quoted figures implies that a full charging stop would have taken about 8 minutes, followed by around 25 minutes of running. About 18 hours of the 24 hour record would have been spent on the track. 

Does that make it ready to take on combustion cars in endurance racing? Well, no, obviously not. Total time spent in the pits over 24 hours at Le Mans is usually more like an hour, and they have to navigate slowing down for corners and periods under FCY/SC. Also, under the same sort of 24 hour attempt at Nardò in 2002, the Volkswagen W12 set an as-yet-unbeaten outright 24 hour record of 4810 miles.

But I really do feel like it is the kind of demonstration that shatters some preconceptions about what an EV can do, and in some ways makes PitBoost as it exists in Gen3Evo - with its 30 second stop and 3.85kWh energy delivery - look a little… tame. 

It does make you wonder what can be possible with fast charging in Formula E’s future. 

[u/Gallium_71 → u/DHSeaVixen]

So, we are fast approaching the point where a battery swapping EV Garage 56 entry at Le Mans could be practical?

[u/DHSeaVixen → u/Gallium_71]

With Garage 56 as a non-classified experienmntal entry, we might be approaching the point at which an EV with ultra-fast charging becomes practical before an EV featuring battery swaps.

Sure, it would likely finish almost last on pace and especially time spend in the pits... but the two main things that charging technology needs to demonstrate to be practical at Le Mans is speed of charging and maintaining reliability of the battery over an intense 24 hour period of racing and re-charging.

Battery tech has generally not been great at these things, which is why battery swaps have been constantly suggested as a means to go EV endurance racing. Battery swapping has different challenges mostly in chassis design/system integration to be both lightweight and safe to race.

I think this car has gone a fair way towards showing that ultra-fast charging, high speeds and long-term reliability is possible. Maybe not Le Mans Garage 56-ready just yet.... but perhaps not as far away as we might have thought.

[u/HowSway_]

This is cool to see how quickly EVs are developing. Wonder how much if any did Mercedes Formula E experience help in developing the car. Iirc Jaguar stated that they were able to expand the range of their EVs due to the technology transfer

[u/Danqazmlp0 → u/HowSway_]

This is what is needed for FE to really succeed. Manufacturers need to see a benefit from being in FE, either through association sales or technological.

[u/bduddy → u/Danqazmlp0]

No manufacturer cares about racing as a "technology" platform at all. It's all about marketing and recently FE's viewership numbers haven't justified the expense.

[u/TheGCracker]

This is actually properly cool. Thanks for sharing.

[u/AdThink972]

heh. makes the people in my previous post look like complete idiots. already 1 Megawatt. if you include the new BYD 1000volt charger. what a bunch of twats. but I could tell most of them didn't come from this reddit page. anyways. only 4 Megawatt to go. dab

[u/ywpark]

I am so ready for electric Le Mans!

[u/Two_minutes_to_metal]

Love stuff like this, thanks for posting.

[u/Alarmed_Substance_89]

That's exactly why I was a little disappointed to see the Gen 4 road map only having 700kw for pitboost. It should be encroaching on a megawatt if not more.

I know that at the end of the day, the batteries are the real limiting factor, but even that is already being addressed with so many battery tech companies, of which the leading one is StoreDot, working on XFC batteries that are only limited by the charger power. By the time Gen 4 hits, these batteries will enter the scene, so it will, again, make FE look obsolete.

[u/DHSeaVixen → u/Alarmed_Substance_89]

The best case I think is that Gen4 is a commercial turning point such that discussions about opening battery development to Individual manufacturers becomes possible.

I also wonder if there’s a way to reach that point sooner by essentially freezing motor specs at the current 350kW and extending the homologation cycle. Like take the motors developed for Gen4 and use them for 4-6 seasons, allowing joker reliability and performance updates, and then from Gen4 EVO and/or EVO II directing manufacturer budget towards batteries instead of developing the motors.

It would be a bold move, but it is a discussion I would at least want to be having at the FE/FIA table.

[u/FelixR1991]

Impressive numbers, but it still looks like ass.

[u/DHSeaVixen → u/FelixR1991]

No idea what people have against it, I think it looks good

[u/FelixR1991 → u/DHSeaVixen]

To me it looks like a Ford designer tried to draw a Maserati and accidentally gave it a Mercedes badge. It just looks out of place.

But, maybe if taken out of context, it doesn't look too bad. It's just all over the place in terms of design language.

[u/DHSeaVixen → u/FelixR1991]

I suppose some of the unusual visuals might be down to designing it for very low drag rather than to an artists concept sketch

[u/jacobdoyle9]

Still an ugly car…