Daimler Joins Electric Supercar Shootout with Vision EQ Silver Arrow

Nathan Eddy

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29th August 2018

Evoking the glorious roadsters of yesteryear with 21st century horsepower, the Vision EQ Silver Arrow is an all-electric supercar for one.

Storied German automaker Daimler, maker of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, unveiled the latest high-tech electric supercar vying for the eyeballs (and wallets) of the superrich, the Vision EQ Silver Arrow.

The role model for the one-seater is the Mercedes-Benz W 125 twelve-cylinder roadster the company built 80 years ago on the basis of the Grand Prix racing car. Conceived as an electric vehicle, with a body made of carbon fiber, this soundless Silver Arrow has an output of 550 kilowatts (kW), equaling about 750 horsepower through a rechargeable battery in the underbody.

The battery has a usable capacity of approximately 80 kilowatt hours (kWh), uses side air vents to keep cool and boasts a purported range of almost 250 miles. Featuring one electric motor on the front axle and one at the rear, this electric athlete has a system output of over 200 kW. The drive characteristics can be altered by varying the permanent all-wheel drive’s front-to-rear torque distribution.

In addition to the high-tech horsepower turning the wheels, the driver of the car is also encased in a state-of-the-art cockpit and surrounded by a large panoramic screen on which a 3D image of the surroundings is projected from behind. As an indicator of future possible charging technologies, the lane of the roadway on which inductive charging is possible is superimposed onto the screen.

There is also a touchscreen on the steering wheel that the driver can use to select programs such as Comfort, Sport and Sport+, which offer different driving characteristics. Lest buyers of the car pine for the good old days of an internal combustion soundtrack, settings can also be configured to pipe in the sound of a current Formula 1 Silver Arrow or a Mercedes-AMG V8 engine.

The Vision EQ Silver Arrow also comes with an artificial intelligence (AI) platform allowing drivers to engage in a virtual race against historic or present Silver Arrow racing cars. A virtual racetrack is superimposed onto the real roadway on the panoramic screen. The driver sees their opponent either ahead or behind as a “ghost,” while the Virtual Race Coach-assistance function helps drivers improve by giving them instructions during the “race.”

— Nathan Eddy is a filmmaker and freelance journalist based in Berlin. Follow him on Twitter.