With a racing career spawning over twenty years of professional motorsport racing, another 20 or so of driving at the highest level and then becoming the official test driver for Porsche, Walter Rohrl doesn't exactly need an introduction.
Four times Monte Carlo Rally winner, Group B “car handler” and the first driver to cover the 20 kilometer (14.4 miles) mountain track at Pikes Peak in under 11 minutes, you'd think that there are few cars out there would would genuinely impress him with their performance.
Apparently, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive is one of those cars, as exemplified in the following short video.
If you're not fluent in German, Rohrl is saying: “This kind of power, you don’t get it with a combustion engine. Simply impressive (laughs). The steering of the car is amazing. Unbelievable, really. As soon as you touch the throttle, the vehicle shoots forward – incredible! You can only dream of such driving dynamics. Breathtaking, simply outstanding! No question, these are totally new dimensions of driving that I haven’t experienced within the last 45 years. Very nice. I’m really happy to have had the chance to experience this.”
At the end, his statement is: “Unbelievable, you can’t imagine that something like this exists. I mean, we know that the torque of electric engines is impressive. But the possibility to control the engine of each wheel separately improves the handling dramatically. This is hard to imagine, I have never experienced something like this. I drove the first lap more cautious but in the second lap when you steer into the turns, the car takes the turn in a way that your brain stops working. I really appreciate that I had the chance to experience this – really impressive!”
Apparently, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive is one of those cars, as exemplified in the following short video.
If you're not fluent in German, Rohrl is saying: “This kind of power, you don’t get it with a combustion engine. Simply impressive (laughs). The steering of the car is amazing. Unbelievable, really. As soon as you touch the throttle, the vehicle shoots forward – incredible! You can only dream of such driving dynamics. Breathtaking, simply outstanding! No question, these are totally new dimensions of driving that I haven’t experienced within the last 45 years. Very nice. I’m really happy to have had the chance to experience this.”
At the end, his statement is: “Unbelievable, you can’t imagine that something like this exists. I mean, we know that the torque of electric engines is impressive. But the possibility to control the engine of each wheel separately improves the handling dramatically. This is hard to imagine, I have never experienced something like this. I drove the first lap more cautious but in the second lap when you steer into the turns, the car takes the turn in a way that your brain stops working. I really appreciate that I had the chance to experience this – really impressive!”