TUNER CARS

How Far We’ve Come: Brabus Benz EV

January 10, 2023

It was a state of the art concept car back in 2011 – but today, this Brabus Benz is a reminder of just how far EVs have come!

First shown in 2011, this 4WD performance EV packed 429 HP from a quartet of wheel-mounted hub motors that promised a staggering 2,360 lb-ft of TQ … but, as others have discovered since, hub motors don’t put the power down the way more conventionally mounted motors do, and the big, 4WD Brabus-built Benz was no faster than its diesel-engined cousins.

Think that’s an exaggeration? The multi-million dollar Brabus concept car sauntered up to 60 MPH in about 6.9 seconds on its way to a 137 MPH top speed. Those certainly aren’t terrible performance figures, of course, and neither was the Brabus’ 200-plus mile driving range … but when a relatively affordable Kia EV6 can rocket to 60 in under 4 and put paid to anything this side of a Bugatti?

Well, you know what they say: we’ve come a long way, baby!

To Mercedes’ credit, the firm has since stepped up its EV performance game with cars like the EQE AMG, which offer 677 HP and the ability charge to 60 MPH in about 4 seconds, while charging up 100 miles of range in about 10 minutes at the fastest EV charging stations. All of which is– to say the least!– impressive.

You can check out the Brabus 4WD Full Electric concept for yourself in these pictures, below, then give us your thoughts about the current state of the EV art in the comments.