Episode 3: World Premiere & Last Preparations – Record Drive
We are doing something that has never been done before. We feel as prepared as possible but we are going into the unknown. We all are curious but also a little bit nervous what comes next in the hardware testing. We are full of anticipation. What is going to happen on the track? Are they going to deliver? Quite an amazing feeling when you are driving 300 km/h as you come around the corner and the sunrise is coming up. To sit in the CONCEPT AMG GT XX is something very special for me, very emotional. We are coming from a crazy idea more than one year ago and now it is real. When you do a project like this, you set a very, very ambitious target. The team are going to take it to an absolutely extreme driving event, go through one of the toughest tasks that you can possibly think of. We have that excitement and there is no doubt that we believe in the team. So now is: are they going to deliver? The tech program of this car is about performance and to create the best performing car the world, the electric space, has ever seen. But it is more. It is about creating a holistic car on the interior and exterior. We see new materials, bio-based materials. We are just trying to create the future of the automobile here in this concept. I am really amazed about the communication feature of this rear panel here. I think it is going to be the future of car exteriors. We communicate with the world and everybody participating in public traffic. These GT3 tyres are the raw material for our luxury Performance leather alternative which we put on the seats in the whole car. We have these 3D-printed seat structures which you can have after a body scan. And then you sit perfectly ergonomically in your seat. It would not be an innovation if we knew from the beginning that it would work. We are very shortly before the world premiere of our CONCEPT AMG GT XX. I cannot wait to show all the innovations to the public. Ready? Today, we are at the home and heart of AMG in Affalterbach. Or, as we call it: “Affasterbach”. It is all about the world premiere of our show car. So, today is a major milestone. We have worked so hard for today’s reveal. Walking around the site this morning in Affalterbach, you feel a lot of energy. It is amazing what the AMG team did to prepare the whole factory site, the development site, for this one of a kind event. I feel super, super proud. We are now practicing pit stops and looking at the car for the first time. The first time I heard about the CONCEPT AMG GT XX and the record drive was earlier this year. I thought I misheard the statement when they told me what AMG were planning to achieve. I just could not comprehend it. Straight away, I was super excited and wanted to be a part of the challenge. Over the course of the eight days of driving, we are going to have 17 drivers. As you can see behind me, we will be here with two cars driving simultaneously. We will be driving in stints, the driver is changing regularly. Each stint is approximately 3 to 4 laps, which equals 9 to 12 minutes. Depending on what time of day and how hot it is, the drivers will do between 1 and 1,5 hour in the car before they change. The fact that it has over 1300 hp and its top speed is well over 300 km/h is insane. But also that it can charge within 2 to 3 minutes. I feel it is such an innovation and it is really going to change the landscape for EVs in the future. It is quite an amazing feeling when you are driving 300 km/h as you come around the corner and the sunrise is coming up in your eyes. A special feeling in the morning. Our drivers here at Nardò have got some phenomenal challenges in front of them. Not only do they need to drive consistently at 300 kph for prolonged periods of time, at a given distance to the wall that we have calculated as the optimal, they need to do it in the midday sun and in the middle of the night with the car getting hot and with the varying conditions. The drivers need to really hit their marks when they “lift and coast”, then when they start regening. After the first three LEDs you have to lift and after the second three you have to push the paddle, then you should have the right speed to enter the pit lane only from recuperation. Lift! Lifting off, I am coming into the pits. Oh my God, that is so impressive! Paddle! What we really want to see is as the driver comes into the pits, he is leaving it to the last minute, taking every tenth of a second as he comes to a halt to start charging. Until you have done it, you have not done it. So now we are full of anticipation. With such a record attempt, there are many things that could go wrong. The weather was not playing into our cards. This day we started the challenge and we will break those records. The final task in front of us now, we need to win.
CONCEPT AMG GT XX: From a dazzling world premiere in Affasterbach to the final preparations for the record drive. The tension in this episode is tangible!
The home of Mercedes-AMG Affalterbach turns into Affasterbach for the world premiere that presents the CONCEPT AMG GT XX to the public. An important milestone on the road to the record.
Meanwhile in Nardò, race drivers George Russell and Maro Engel take us behind the scenes of preparing for the big day. The plan: Two cars, seventeen drivers, stints and pit stops for charging rehearsed to the second.
The stage is set. Nardò awaits. And with it, one of the most ambitious records ever attempted.
Watch now, don’t miss out!
Subscribe to the channel so you get notified for new exciting videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialMercedesAMG
► Experience the world of Mercedes-AMG: https://www.mercedes-amg.com
► More interesting playlists:
AMG Uncovered: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWsb2uv1ns8znM0fgCehDq_7I5B1WGDlt
Inside AMG: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWsb2uv1ns8xrrqEdvJH4HeGThDkEnX2O
Best of Mercedes-AMG: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWsb2uv1ns8wZ2jiGlk8oRiNvUWaCFHwF
► Mercedes-AMG on Social Media:
https://facebook.com/MercedesAMG
Tweets by MercedesAMG
https://instagram.com/mercedesamg
https://www.linkedin.com/company/mercedes-amg-gmbh/
https://www.xing.com/pages/mercedes-amggmbh
#SOAMG
