Cars like the Ford Focus RS and Audi RS3 have a special drift mode that helps the driver sideways, but what if it could be easier to turn your car into a smoke engine? Well, that’s possible, as long as there’s an electric motor, not a combustion engine. Since it seems that EVs aren’t complicated enough yet, Mercedes is thinking of implementing an autonomous drift mode in AMG models without ICE.
To the surprise of many, it has actually been done. Back in February, the Toyota Research Institute programmed the Supra to burn rubber without human intervention. The main difference here is that Mercedes is actively thinking about installing such a feature in future electric AMGs. In an interview with Australian magazine Car sellThe automaker’s global vehicle development boss Joerg Bartels talks about the unusual gimmick.
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“Auto drift mode? Yes of course. We can do this because we always know the situation of the car. We have sensors for everything, so we know that. You need to have a lot of room for something like this and the only problem, apart from torque vectoring, is you need to drive with cable as you may need to remove the steering [from the driver].”
When asked about the possibility of implementing autonomous drift mode in cars, Joerg Bartels strongly suggested the possibility: “Maybe it will come.” He went on to say the upcoming EQG (electric G-Class) tank change function demonstrates the benefits of having a quad-motor setup. The R&D top brass admits it’s not a useful feature in the real world, but it will allow owners to brag about what their EV can do:
“This is something [tank turn] You’ll do it and show your neighbors but it’s not very helpful in rough conditions or during dynamic driving.”
BMW M is no stranger to on-the-spot EV engineering, having recently shown a modified i4 Coupe with a quad motor that performs the same maneuvers, albeit with a heavy dose of CGI.
A peek from Affalterbach is just getting started with the electric performance car, so far showing only the EQS 53 and the smaller EQS 43 and 53. The Vision AMG concept we saw earlier this year is a window into the future of dedicated AMG.EA electric cars. sports car platforms.
