Audi has their E-tron concept cars and BMW their ActiveHybrid. Porsche introduced the Cayenne Hybrid last year and the 918 RSR this year. There can be no doubt now that the green revolution has reached the domain of sports and luxury cars. Once the domain of cars like the Toyota Prius, vehicles with electric propulsion and alternative fuel technologies are now mass-market commodities that are gaining wide acceptance. Even Porsche tuner Ruf has joined the bandwagon with their eRuf 911.
With Mercedes-Benz showing the neon-colored SLS AMG E-Cell at the North American International Automobile Show, the company has shown that it is seriously looking at this new technology and its application to sports cars in particular. Rumors are now going around that Mercedes in-house tuner AMG is looking to mate its sporty gasoline engines with a hybrid arrangement involving electric motors.
Herbert Kohler, future mobility and advanced engineering department head has stated that “AMG vehicles in the coming years will be available as hybrids. The AMG family will still be about performance, but – like every other automaker under the sun – fuel consumption is a constant part of engineering discussions going forward”.
With this kind of official statement, the future of high-performing sports hybrids is assured and that Mercedes-Benz will come out with the products that will suit the luxury market.
