Be afraid: Mercedes-AMG is building its first ever electric performance SUV

Mercedes-AMG is building a big car using lots of electricity and likely a fair few spells. That shady teaser pic above previews AMG’s first ever SUV. An electric SUV.

‘But wait,’ you cry, ‘AMG already builds loads of SUVs like the GLA and the GLB and the GLC and the GLE and the GLS and the EQE and the G-Wagen!’ Yes, you’re right. But they’re Mercedes cars tuned by AMG. This leviathan will be a home-grown, Affalterbach effort.

“Mercedes-AMG is designing the entire vehicle architecture for the first time,” said, well, Mercedes-AMG. It’ll be spun of its ‘AMG.EA’ platform which, as the name suggests, is AMG’s electric architecture. A chassis designed to run on batteries and hope.

Only, the SUV will be the second car to emerge from this platform, the first likely being an all-electric AMG GT four-door, as previewed by these likely enormously fun skiddy prototype pics.

This platform will feature axial-flux motor technology that definitely doesn’t sound like it’ll go back in time to a point where SUVs weren’t popular, but definitely has already appeared in a high-performance Mercedes. That’ll be the gorgeous Vision One-Eleven concept, which used one YASA axial-flux motor on each wheel.

And according to YASA, these little motors – half the weight of current radial flux tech – are capable of pumping out 480bhp and 590lb ft each. That’s an easy 960bhp for AMG to reach for right there, without even breaking a sweat. Yeesh.

Battery? There’ll be one, sure, a new high-performance unit. Solid state? Probably a little too soon for that. We know Merc’s working with Factorial Energy on the things, but those are scheduled for 2030, minimum.

Whereas the first development AMG e-SUVs will be undergoing initial test drives this very winter. That’s like… now.

“SUVs have been among our most popular models for many years,” said AMG boss Michael Schiebe. “With the ‘Born in Affalterbach’ SUV, we are responding to this trend by offering our customers a truly captivating high-performance off-roader based on the AMG.EA platform.

“Our new high-performance architecture follows a clear philosophy: AMG first, EV second. This means the vehicles not only excel as electric vehicles but also embody the core AMG qualities of emotion and performance.”

Watch this space. Or wait for the ground to start trembling…