The Mercedes-AMG XX isn’t the first electric AMG – this was…
June 26, 2025 by Jamie Edkins
Car changing is a big deal
This is the Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive, and it was the first fully-electric car to wear the brand’s performance badge.
Mercedes has revealed the new AMG XX Concept, a 1,360hp electric car which will form the basis of a replacement for the AMG GT Four Door.
The thought of an all-electric AMG may seem crazy given its history of making snarling V8s, but this isn’t the first time Mercedes’ performance arm has dipped its toe into the pool of electric motoring. Way back in 2012 there was the SLS AMG Electric Drive, and we’re going to take a closer look at this mean, green silent machine.
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Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive: a quick history lesson
The Mercedes SLS first graced our streets in 2010 as a replacement for the SLR McLaren, and it was simply bonkers.
The bonnet was longer than most hatchbacks, and underneath it lay a shouty 6.3-litre V8 engine with 571hp. You couldn’t ignore those gullwing doors either, which pay homage to the ultra-rare Mercedes 300 SL.
In the years that followed we then had the SLS AMG Black series, which was lighter, louder and more lairy than the standard car. But then, in 2013, Mercedes threw a curveball that no one was expecting – a fully electric SLS.
The idea of an electric supercar isn’t so crazy in 2025, but back in 2013 EVs hadn’t really taken off yet. The Nissan Leaf had only just gone on sale, and electric cars were still stigmatised for having poor range and a limited charging network.
So to make the SLS Electric Drive appeal, it needed to tout some impressive stats – and it did.
Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive motors, batteries and specs
Powering the Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive you had four motors – one for each wheel. That made it the only SLS with four-wheel drive, and it had a combined 750hp and 1,000Nm of torque. Modern EVs like the 1,020hp Tesla Model S Plaid make this look meek, but in 2013 it was groundbreaking.
It could do 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds, which was only 0.1 of a second off the much lighter V8 SLS. The top speed was electronically limited to 155mph.
Feeding those ferociously powerful motors was a 60kWh battery, which by modern standards in a car like this is pretty tiny. A Model S Plaid has a 100kWh pack, and the 1,914hp Rimac Nevera has a massive 120kWh battery.
The result was a pretty dismal range of just 155 miles, which was probably enough to put a lot of people off buying this car. It was impressively fast, but not all that usable back in 2013 when public charging was pretty limited.
Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive design
The overall styling was pretty similar to the standard SLS, but the Electric Drive did get a couple of tweaks to help it stand out.
The first, and most obvious was the high-visibility paint job. Nothing screamed electric car in 2013 like fluorescent green, although you could also get it in a cool-looking chrome blue. The grille was also slightly different, with a closed-off design to aid aerodynamics.
Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive: how does it compare to the new AMG XX?
It doesn’t. The Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive was built in very limited numbers – just 10 of them were ever made. The new AMG XX may not be the first ever electric AMG, but the production version will be the first to be mass produced.
The rarity of this electric SLS is reflected in used values these days. When it was new this car cost around £350,000, which works out to almost £500,000 today when you account for inflation.
Back in 2021 an SLS Electric drive sold for over £1 million, and values haven’t dropped below that since.
Car change? Carwow!
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