Mercedes-AMG EVs will not imitate V8s

Mercedes-AMG has a well-deserved reputation as a builder of fast and loud muscle cars, and its first move into the EV era with the 2022 Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 – local pricing and specs for which were announced today – will not see Affalterbach take a step back on the performance front.

But the sound the car makes?

Mercedes-Benz will be closely monitoring customer feedback around the AMG EQS 53, which arrives in local showrooms from mid-July priced at $328,400 plus on-road costs – and does not have anything like the acoustic bark or the aural bite of its combustion-engined cousins.

Until now, almost all Mercedes-AMG vehicles have been outfitted – or certainly available – with high-performance exhaust systems, designed in part to create a closer and more rewarding connection between car and driver.

The new EQS 53 doesn’t have the precisely controlled explosions of a combustion engine to harmonise with the increasing intensity of acceleration, but Mercedes-Benz has no plans offer a synthesised V8 sound for those who are still want a nostalgic noise in motion.

Speaking at the local launch of AMG’s first EV, Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesperson Jerry Stamoulis said: “It sounds better as an electric car, and we think that’s going to appeal to people the more they use it.

“I think what people need to understand is that it’s not there to replicate what is happening in a petrol vehicle. It’s not designed to imitate the sound of what an AMG V8 may sound like.”

At launch, the Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4MATIC+ offers Silent, Normal and Sports ‘sound experience’ modes, which uses unique speakers, a bass actuator and a sound generator to replicate “the typical AMG driving experience”.

The AMG Dynamic Plus package ($7690) also enables the driver to select between sound characteristics (Balanced, Sport and Powerful) in any driving mode; for example, Race Start mode produces “a unique sound to match the dynamic acceleration”.

There’s also a ‘Performance’ setting with this package “which creates an even more emotional soundscape”.

“I’m not sure what will be offered in the future but EQS 53 has a sound that’s unique to an electric AMG, both internally and externally,” said Stamoulis.

Mercedes-AMG executives have already said the EVA2 large car platform that underpins the EQS 53 – which tips the scales at 2655kg – is too heavy to wear the top-spec AMG 63 badge.

“This is a 53,” said Stamoulis. “If you look at some other AMG 53 and 43 models, they’re not as loud as our 63s. Every AMG vehicle has its own distinctive sound.”

There might not be an EQS 63 coming, but an equivalent AMG-fettled EV is expected by mid-decade when the AMG-exclusive ‘EA’ electric car platform debuts.

This architecture is expected to underpin the AMG GT’s replacement, potentially with in-hub wheel motors.

A preview of the next-gen AMG supercar was released recently in the form of the AMG VISION concept.

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