Mercedes’ performance division enters a new era of pure electrification with a 677bhp saloon
The Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 is Stuttgart’s second proper stab at an electric AMG production car, after the Mercedes-AMG EQS 53.E-Class-based cars have always been the archetypal AMGs, so does that apply in the electric era, with the equivalently sized Mercedes EQE?AMG certainly got into electric performance cars very early. The pioneering Mercedes-AMG SLS Electric Drive was launched in 2014, when its 738bhp peak output was deeply impressive and its claimed 120-mile range was pretty respectable for an off-the-shelf EV. It also cost £355,000, so unsurprisingly AMG produced only a handful of them.Eight years later, AMG has launched another EV, the EQE 53, which makes 617bhp in standard form and up to 677bhp (briefly) when equipped with the AMG Dynamic Plus Package, has a range of up to 321 miles and comes with the extra practicality of four seats and luggage space. UK pricing hasn’t been confirmed, but we’re told to expect it to be around £115,000 – less than a third of the cost of that SLS.But the EQE 53’s arrival raises another question. How, beyond raw performance – of which this car and its bigger sibling, the Mercedes-AMG EQS 53, have a super-abundance – will the tuning division distinguish its EVs from the regular Mercedes versions on which they’re based?There’s certainly no shortage of power. The EQE 53 uses the same 90.6kWh battery as the regular Mercedes-Benz EQE 350+ but gets two more powerful AMG-specific electric motors featuring new windings and the ability to handle more current. AMG claims a 3.4sec 0-60mph time for the regular EQE 53 and 3.2sec when the car is fitted with the Dynamic Plus Package, which adds launch control – figures that, if delivered, will make this sizeable saloon one of the fastest-accelerating models that the Mercedes clan has ever produced.
