Mercedes-AMG Teases All-Electric, High-Performance Off-Road SUV

Mercedes’ performance division, AMG, has given us our first look at the first SUV it will ever design from the ground up. Known simply as the “Born in Affalterbach” (after the town in which AMG is based), the all-electric high-performance off-road SUV will be based on the AMG.EA electric vehicle (EV) architecture.

As the name suggests, the platform has been designed in-house by Mercedes-AMG for performance vehicles. The company announced the architecture back in March, when it revealed that it was performing cold-weather testing with a high-performance sedan. Little has been revealed about the AMG.EA platform, but the automaker promises that it will be a “technological trailblazer,” utilizing axial-flux motors and a new high-performance battery pack.

Although this is the first SUV developed in-house by AMG, it is far from the first performance SUV tuned by it. The history of fast crossovers stretches back over 25 years, to the ML 55 AMG. Today, AMG slaps its name on hotter versions of the GLA, GLB, GLC, GLE, the GLS, and even the EQE SUV. In addition, the Mercedes-AMG G 63 is the favourite accessory of the rich and famous.  

This isn’t the first vehicle developed entirely by the tuning house, either. In fact, it’s the sixth following the SLS, the first-generation AMG GT, the second-generation AMG GT, the SL, and the high-performance electric sedan that is based on the AMG.EA platform.

“SUVs have been among our most popular models for many years,” said Michael Schiebe, the chairman of the board at Mercedes-AMG. “Our new high-performance architecture follows a clear philosophy: 'AMG First, EV Second'.”

Unfortunately, Mercedes-AMG has not revealed any performance figures for the vehicle, nor has it said when consumers will be able to start buying the “Born in Affalterbach” SUV. It has, however, stated that the first development vehicles will undergo their first test drives this winter.