Top car brands step up EV offerings, providing electric cars with chart-topping speed
Mercedes-Benz has been ramping up its electric vehicle offerings the past couple of years, and their performance division - AMG - has created its first model of the electric era.
It's has been known for decades as the in-house tuning shop that makes Mercedes vehicles perform better. Now doing so on the EQE sedan. More power from the electric drive system, though at the expense of battery range. It's rated at 225 miles by the EPA, while the base model regular EQE can go just over 300.
Speaking of expense, as with gasoline powered AMG models, the speed costs money. Up to $30,000 more than the regular EQE sedan (which starts in the mid-$70,000 range). With some options, the example driven by Eyewitness News came in at a pretty steep $126,000.
And as Mercedes-Benz has its AMG division, BMW has its M division. The brand's pure electric models - the i4 and iX - are available as M versions too. They go faster, but cost more and have less range. It's the price you pay for speed.
Got a smaller budget but still want a fast EV? Look what Kia's cooked up: the GT version of their EV6 model. How about 576 horsepower, with chassis and braking upgrades too. All for under $65,000 MSRP. It's even picked up an award among some steep competition.
"It just won the Word Car Performance Car of the Year. Which is an amazing thing. This is a category traditionally Ferraris and Porsches and 'exotica,'" said James Bell of Kia USA.
There's a bit of visual pizazz to help this quick Kia stand out: lime green accents on the brake calipers and the seat stitching. No shyness here.
Car companies have been using performance to sell cars since there have been car companies. So it only makes sense that as electric vehicles become more and more popular, performance will help sell them too.
For example, going way back to the early days of Henry Ford. Before he got his car company up to speed in the very early 1900s, he was showing he could produce some speed with his early racer called the 999.
One hundred twenty years later, in a very different time, the electric car with his name on it offers some speed of its own. When Ford Motor Company decided to call its battery-powered car the Mustang Mach-E, a performance-oriented GT model was almost a no-brainer. Just like rumbling Mustang GTs that burn gasoline, the Mach-E GT offers much more get-up-and-go for those seeking something quicker, for a base MSRP of $61,795.
So whether you want a performance EV with an American pedigree, one honed on the German autobahn, or something from a name we used to never associate with high performance, the auto industry has got you covered.
