DRIVE IT ON THE PADDLES. WELL, YES, I DON'T MIND if 'D I do. This is more like it: a concept EV that lays down some groundbreaking claims for range, efficiency and sustainability, and yet the German engineer alongside is encouraging me to use the paddles to make progress? Happy days.
In fact, what my newfound driving buddy is actually asking me to do is switch between regen modes, adjusting the severity of the regen braking in and out, and back to coast, to vary my speed without ever touching the actual brake pedal. It's how you drive the EQXX the proper way. Brakes equal heat, which equals wasted energy, you see.
Why should you care about this rather unusual-looking MercedesBenz concept car? Well, it was created in just 18 months, by a crack team of Merc's best engineers, cherry-picked from all sorts of departments across the business, and makes some very bold claims. Like being able to travel for more than 620 miles on one charge, and weighing 1750kg. Okay, not exactly lightweight, but around 700kg lighter than one of Mercedes' current EVs with a similar range. That's quite some diet. It also features a powertrain designed in conjunction with the F1 engineers at Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) in Brixworth, possesses the power electronics from a Project One, and has enough interesting stats to boggle anyone's mind. It is, as every engineer here is keen to tell me, so much more than just another show car concept.
This story is from the September 2022 edition of Evo UK.
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This story is from the September 2022 edition of Evo UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
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