Mercedes-AMG GT XX smashes EV distance record

Mercedes-AMG’s GT XX concept car has set a new distance record for electric cars, covering more than 3,400 miles in 24 hours.

The 1,341bhp hyper-saloon smashed the previous record set by the Xpeng P7 earlier in August by almost 1,000 miles – racking up a total of 3,404.5 miles. It was one of 25 records claimed by the AMG prototype over the course of several days.

Under the goal of “around the world in eight days”, the GT XX also claimed endurance records for between 12 and 168 hours as well as new distance benchmarks. Chief among those was driving the equivalent of around the globe’s circumference – 24,901 miles – in seven days, 13 hours, 24 minutes and seven seconds.

Conducted at the famous Nardo test track, the challenge saw two examples of the concept car lap the circuit 3,177 times at a constant 186mph, stopping only to charge at up to 850kW. AMG said the car could have gone faster but the speed was calculated to offer the optimal balance between track speed and charging stops, delivering the fastest overall time.

A team of 17 drivers, including British F1 star George Russell took two-hour shifts at the wheel to achieve the various records.

Michael Schiebe, Mercedes‑AMG chairman commented: “An AMG has always been defined by its drivetrain. In the electric world, too, our drive system must be convincing across the board. That’s why we’re the first manufacturer to use axial flux motors and directly cooled batteries in fully electric models.

“We have now impressively demonstrated how superior these technologies are. Enormous performance and extremely fast charging were always available and made these records possible. For customers of our future electric models, this means they will get a genuine AMG – no ifs; no buts.”

The GT XX previews the upcoming four-door super-EV from AMG and is the performance brand’s first ground-up electric model, built on the new AMG.EA platform.

It uses three innovative axial flux motors developed by UK-based Yasa. These are around a third of the size of traditional EV motors but deliver up to three times as much power. In total, the two rear-mounted and single front-mounted motors offer 1,341bhp, a top speed of more than 223mph and a 0-62mph time of less than 3 seconds.

The bespoke 114kWh battery has been developed to allow continuous high-performance power delivery and to charge at staggering speeds. Its 850kW peak charging allows almost 250 miles of range to be delivered in just five minutes.

The production version of the GT XX is expected to arrive in late 2026. While the exterior and interior design are expected to be toned down, it is thought that the potent powertrain will be used to allow it to compete with the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, Xiaomi SU7 and Lotus Emeya.