Mercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing launch world’s fastest EV boat

Sometimes pretty interesting things can happen when worlds collide. The latest is a high-velocity matchup that involves a collaborative effort between Mercedes-AMG, maker of some of the world’s fastest automobiles and Cigarette Racing, creator of some of the world quickest off-shore performance watercraft. Presented today at the opening of the Miami International Boat Show, the “Cigarette AMG Electric Drive Concept” uses numerous powertrain elements culled from the 2014 SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive. The end product – a sleek 38-foot exercise finished in eye-scorching AMG Electricbeam magno paint and sporting giant AMG logos on its side – produces a total of 1,656 kilowatts (2,221 horsepower) and 2,213 lb-ft of torque. That formidable might is sufficient to take this super-green seafarer to speeds in excess of 100 mph, which Mercedes and Cigarette say make it both the world’s most powerful and the fastest electrically-driven motor boat.

Concealed within the hull of the Cigarette AMG Electric Drive Concept is a pair of drive units. Each consists of an array of six electric motors from the SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive that develop 138kw (185 hp) and 184 lb-ft of torque. Each array sends power to the propshaft via its own transmission. The motors, transmissions and battery packs that store a total of 240kWh worth of electricity are positioned to ensure a low center of gravity and optimal weight distribution to deliver “sublime handling characteristics during more dynamic changes of direction.”