Mercedes has revealed a new concept, combining its electrification strategy with off-roading, resulting in the Mercedes EQC 4×4 Squared.
We have seen the 4×4 Squared moniker before on the G500 and the E-class All-Terrain, but never before on an all-electric vehicle. A team of dedicated developers under the leadership of development engineer Jürgen Eberle (he worked on the E400 All-Terrain 4×4 Squared) has created this drivable technology platform on the basis of an EQC 400 4MATIC.
This study is to show that electric drive and sustainability can be mixed with an adventurous lifestyle, driving over multiple terrains from sand to crawling over rocks and fording through mud. Now for the numbers.
It rides at 293 mm above the ground, 58mm higher than a G-Class. It has a fording depth of 40cm, approach angle of 31.8 degrees and a departure angle of 33 degrees at the back. The tremendous ground clearance is made possible by the conversion to portal axles, where the wheels situated lower down on the axle hubs owing to the portal gears. Meaning essentially, the whole car gets taller.
Now this is all very similar to what we have seen in other Squared models but in the EQC the headlights turn into ‘lampspeakers’. Now really and truly the headlights or ‘lampspeakers’ are used as part of the powerful Acoustic Vehicle Alert System (AVAS) which is needed to produce sounds by law.
SCDW 