There's no more insane electric vehicle heading to production than Mercedes' SLS AMG EV, a 740-hp, $530,000 version of AMG's trademark gull-wing coupe that pushes EVs into the supercar realm. In an answer to a question no one but AMG engineers thought to ask, the Cigarette boat firm adapted the SLS electric tech to one of their boats — resulting in a 2,200-hp monster that's the world's most powerful electric boat.
Painted in the same shade of "Electricbeam magno" yellow Mercedes will use exclusively on the SLS AMG EV, the 38-foot-long oceangoing edition draws its power from 3,458 lithium-ion battery cells holding 240 kilowatt-hours of energy — the same as 15 Chevy Volts. That's routed through 12 electric motors, with two drive units holding six motors apiece. AMG says the batteries, which weigh more than two tons, were designed to be recharged at standard marina plug-ins in seven hours.
Top speed of the boat? Beyond 90 mph.
Officially, Cigarette and AMG label this boat as a concept. Yet the engineering of the components, battery routing and digital readouts looks as finished as a production model. With a regular-edition Cigarette 38-foot Top Gun carrying a price tag of more than $500,000, the potential sticker for the electric AMG version could easily run into the millions — and knowing the world's demand for performance luxury goods, there's probably a handful of buyers willing to go overboard with it.