Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow Has 738 HP and is 17 Feet Long

The fully electric concept car is inspired by the 1938 Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen – a top-speed record car with a twin-supercharged 5.5-liter V12 engine that made 725 hp. In the hands of racing drive Rudolf Caracciola, the W125 reached a top speed of 268 mph (432.7 km/h) on the A5 Autobahn between Frankfurt and Darmstadt way back in the late 1930s. That record stood until November 2017, when the Koenigsegg Agera RS broke the record for world’s fastest production car after reaching 284 mph on a public road in Arizona.

While not quite as fast as either of those vehicles the EQ Silver Arrow is still powerful, boasting a pure electric powertrain making 738 hp. It also features an 80 kWh lithium ion battery that enables a driving range of approximately 250 miles. We doubt the EQ Silver Arrow show car is actually making 738 hp, or that it can travel 250 miles on a single charge, but these statistics are still interesting, as they likely give us an idea of what to expect from Mercedes’ actual electric production cars.

“Over 80 years ago, the historic Silver Arrows demonstrated that Mercedes-Benz was a pioneer when it came to speed, thanks, among other things, to their streamlined shape,” said Daimler design boss, Gorden Wagener. “The EQ Silver Arrow show car draws on that legacy. Intended for acceleration and driving pleasure, it embodies progressive luxury and provides an insight into the future of our design. As a result, the show car drives the design idiom of our new EQ product and technology brand to the top.”

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There are some other aspects of the EQ Silver Arrow that may also hint at what to expect from forthcoming Mercedes EVs. It features two large driver display screens, which can superimpose an image of the roadway onto the screen. This could be used to show the driver when they are travelling overtop of a roadway with inductive charging, Mercedes says. The vehicle also has a sound-generation device that can replicate the noise of a variety of different cars, including a modern-day Mercedes F1 car and an AMG V8. Like many other modern-day Mercedes cars, the vehicle has Comfort, Sport and Sport+ drive settings as well, which could be a sign that the drive mode select system will appear on its future electric vehicles.

The Mercedes EQ Silver Arrow Concept will be in display in Pebble Beach all this weekend. We wouldn’t bet on it reaching production, but with Mercedes-Benz, who knows? This is the same company that built the SLR Sterling Moss, G63 6×6 and Formula 1 engined Project 1, after all.

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