The EQS is built on a platform dedicated to electric cars, but Mercedes has considered the idea of integrating a gasoline engine into it. Not to drive the wheels but as a generator to recharge the battery on the fly. A new report claims that testing of a prototype was done with a small 1.0-liter turbocharged range extender. However, these trials were reportedly suspended.
automobile car quotes a Mercedes insider as saying the German luxury brand is no longer pursuing range-extending electric vehicles. It is considered a “transitional technology”, costly to produce and providing only minimal benefits. The EQS would have had a two-cylinder version of the four-cylinder “M254” engine with an exhaust system mounted at the front of the car. Power came from a 268 hp rear-mounted electric motor, drawing power from a lithium-ion battery installed in the floor.
48 Pictures
The front-mounted ICE probably wouldn’t have hampered practicality since the EQS doesn’t have a frunk anyway. However, adding a combustion engine and a small fuel tank would have added weight to an already heavy car. An EQS 450+ tips the scales at 5,597 pounds while the AMG variant weighs 5,952 pounds.
Price would have been another issue. Logic tells us that a range-extending EQS would have been more expensive considering the additional hardware. The base model already costs six figures, starting at $104,400 and topping out at $147,550, before options and destination charges.
We have contacted Mercedes for comment and will update this story once we receive a response. Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that the company signed a deal with Geely in late 2020 to work on hybrid powertrains. Even though the range extenders haven’t been specified, we do know that the Chinese auto giant has this type of technology in its portfolio. The partnership stipulated that Volvo, owned by Geely, would also use these engines.
The company that bears the legendary three-pointed star is now focusing its efforts on ordinary battery-powered electric vehicles. The recently launched 2025 EQS is already a good remedy for range anxiety as the enlarged battery (from 108.4 to 118 kWh) allows for a maximum WLTP range of 511 miles.
The EPA hasn’t rated the revised model, but the old one went up to 352 miles on a single charge. The WLTP is generally more optimistic than the EPA, so don’t expect the US EQS to get the same high rating as the equivalent European model.
The EQS is built on a platform dedicated to electric cars, but Mercedes has considered the idea of integrating a gasoline engine into it. Not to drive the wheels but as a generator to recharge the battery on the fly. A new report claims that testing of a prototype was done with a small 1.0-liter turbocharged range extender. However, these trials were reportedly suspended.
automobile car quotes a Mercedes insider as saying the German luxury brand is no longer pursuing range-extending electric vehicles. It is considered a “transitional technology”, costly to produce and providing only minimal benefits. The EQS would have had a two-cylinder version of the four-cylinder “M254” engine with an exhaust system mounted at the front of the car. Power came from a 268 hp rear-mounted electric motor, drawing power from a lithium-ion battery installed in the floor.
48 Pictures
The front-mounted ICE probably wouldn’t have hampered practicality since the EQS doesn’t have a frunk anyway. However, adding a combustion engine and a small fuel tank would have added weight to an already heavy car. An EQS 450+ tips the scales at 5,597 pounds while the AMG variant weighs 5,952 pounds.
Price would have been another issue. Logic tells us that a range-extending EQS would have been more expensive considering the additional hardware. The base model already costs six figures, starting at $104,400 and topping out at $147,550, before options and destination charges.
We have contacted Mercedes for comment and will update this story once we receive a response. Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that the company signed a deal with Geely in late 2020 to work on hybrid powertrains. Even though the range extenders haven’t been specified, we do know that the Chinese auto giant has this type of technology in its portfolio. The partnership stipulated that Volvo, owned by Geely, would also use these engines.
The company that bears the legendary three-pointed star is now focusing its efforts on ordinary battery-powered electric vehicles. The recently launched 2025 EQS is already a good remedy for range anxiety as the enlarged battery (from 108.4 to 118 kWh) allows for a maximum WLTP range of 511 miles.
The EPA hasn’t rated the revised model, but the old one went up to 352 miles on a single charge. The WLTP is generally more optimistic than the EPA, so don’t expect the US EQS to get the same high rating as the equivalent European model.