Back in April the electric Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX concept car drove from Stuttgart, Germany, to Cassis, France, on a single charge, covering 626.3 miles and still arriving with 15% charge left. Now Mercedes has taken the EQXX on an even longer journey, driving it from Stuttgart to the Silverstone racetrack in the UK and breaking its own range record by traveling 747 miles in total.
Beyond just being longer in distance, this trip to England had a lot more challenges than the EQXX’s drive to France. While the earlier record was set in springtime weather that ranged from 37 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit, temperatures reached 86F on the way to Silverstone. In total the EQXX drove for 14 hours and 30 minutes, with the air conditioning running for 8 of those hours. The EQXX has a multisource heat pump that helps keep the interior cool with a minimal effect on range, and its compact electric motor is efficient enough that it doesn’t generate much heat, so the thermal management system can be lighter and smaller. Cooling is partly accomplished through the car’s aerodynamics, including active shutters and a cooling plate in the underfloor.
It looks like a spaceship.
Mercedes-Benz
There was also a lot more stop-and-go traffic on the route from Stuttgart to Silverstone, and fewer opportunities for energy recuperation through braking regen — the April drive went through the Alps, which is massively helpful in that regard. Mercedes’ team also had to deal with a closed section of the autobahn, requiring a detour through the countryside, and the EQXX had to take the Eurotunnel.
Once the EQXX arrived at Silverstone it still had some charge left, so Mercedes Formula E driver and former champion Nyck de Vries took the wheel and hit the track. He didn’t go easy on the EQXX, hitting its 87-mph top speed and completing 11 laps of the circuit before the car ran out of juice as it came into the pit lane. Over the course of the 747 miles traveled the EQXX averaged 52 mph, with an average consumption of 8.3 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometers.
After its long journey the EQXX is now on display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it will also do runs up the famed hill. The fun isn’t over yet, though. Many technologies from the EQXX will make their way into production Mercedes EVs within the next few years, and the development team is already planning its next road trip.
