If you think electric vehicles are limited solely for the inner city or basic highway driver, it’s time to change your thinking.
Mercedes-Benz is challenging the status quo with their new vehicle -the EQC 4×4² – in a bid to show that e-mobility is not just for the urban life, but also conceivable off-road.
“Our aim is to combine modern luxury and sustainability with emotional appeal. The EQC 4×4² shows how enjoyable sustainable mobility can be,” says Markus Schäfer, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG.
“This drivable study clearly shows that alongside a passion for e-mobility, we at Mercedes-Benz lay a strong claim to leadership in this sector and will heighten the emotional appeal of this even further in the future.”
With the EQC 4×4² as a technology platform, Mercedes-Benz is demonstrating that love of adventure can be combined with lifestyle and sustainability.
Its capabilities include driving through sand in desert regions and on beaches, on rocky terrain and through mountain streams.
A roof-tent and inflatable dinghy allow the remotest camping areas to be reached – and when making an early start, the car will probably be so quiet the other adventurers in the camp will not even be woken up.
At 293 millimetres, the EQC 4×4² rides more than twice as high as a production EQC (140 millimetres). The tremendous ground clearance is made possible by the conversion to portal axles, which Mercedes says are unlike conventional axles.
It means the wheels are not at the height of the axle centre, but are instead situated much lower down on the axle hubs owing to the portal gears – making it remarkably suitable for the offroad adventurer.
For now however, the EQC 4×4² is claimed to be a one-off, but if there’s ever demand for a tougher, more capable pure-electric SUV, Mercedes-Benz definitely has the jump start on the competition.
In a nutshell:
- The EQC 4×4² is around 20 cm higher than the standard version.
- The wheel arch flares measure about 10 cm
- Despite 20-inch wheels, the turning circle is small thanks to the modern axle kinematics with four-link front axle
- Ground clearance and fording depth are increased by 15 centimetres compared to the standard EQC.
