“Off road, it is less about the overall range and more about driving hours. We’ve seen some incredible figures during testing,” he stated.

To shield the battery in excessive off-road driving circumstances, it’s housed inside a sturdy sealed case that allows the electrical G-Class to wade by means of deep water. The metal casing additionally receives an extra layer of carbonfibre-reinforced polymer compound to guard in opposition to rock strikes and different impacts.

“The outer layer is made of an extremely resilient material that is designed to protect the battery at all times,” stated Schiller.

One benefit of mounting the battery inside the flooring is the mannequin’s centre of gravity, which is described as being significantly decrease than that of the ICE G-Class. It comes at the price of weight, although.

“Weight is a challenge – as it is in any electric vehicle,” stated Schiller. “We haven’t got a final figure yet but it is below 3500kg.”

Underneath, a double-wishbone entrance and trailing arm rear suspension makes use of related linkage factors to ICE G-Class fashions.

Mercedes-Benz will not be ready to speak an excessive amount of about elements resembling floor clearance or strategy, departure and break over angles simply but, although Schiller suggests the electrical G-Class is not going to solely match diesel- and petrol-powered G-Class fashions in off-road circumstances but in addition, in sure conditions, outperform them.

Despite the automotive’s skill to supply selective drive to every wheel, although, it seems potential homeowners must forgo towing. “It is an absolute killer for the vary, stated Schiller. “We’re undecided at this stage if it is going to be provided on preliminary era.”

First trip: Mercedes-Benz EQG prototype

If Mercedes-Benz was in any respect involved concerning the skill of the priceless prototype its G-Class engineering group had dropped at a secret testing floor close to Toulouse in France, it wasn’t exhibiting.