Marine

AMG and Cigarette Racing produce the world's fastest and most powerful electric boat

AMG and Cigarette Racing produce the world's fastest and most powerful electric boat
AMGCR Electric Top Gun together with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive in yellow AMG electricbeam magno finishes
AMGCR Electric Top Gun together with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive in yellow AMG electricbeam magno finishes
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Engine compartment of the AMGCR Electric Top Gun
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Engine compartment of the AMGCR Electric Top Gun
The AMGCR Electric Top Gun from above – all 38 feet of her
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The AMGCR Electric Top Gun from above – all 38 feet of her
AMG and Cigarette Racing join forces to produce the world's fastest and most powerful electric boat
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AMG and Cigarette Racing join forces to produce the world's fastest and most powerful electric boat
Cruising slowly in the AMGCR Electric Top Gun cigarette boat
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Cruising slowly in the AMGCR Electric Top Gun cigarette boat
Slowly cruising around a point in the AMCGR Electric Top Gun
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Slowly cruising around a point in the AMCGR Electric Top Gun
AMGCR Electric Top Gun together with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive which was its inspiration
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AMGCR Electric Top Gun together with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive which was its inspiration
Illuminated top edges of the AMGCR Electric Top Gun and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive suggest their common streamlining
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Illuminated top edges of the AMGCR Electric Top Gun and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive suggest their common streamlining
AMGCR Electric Top Gun together with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive in yellow AMG electricbeam magno finishes
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AMGCR Electric Top Gun together with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive in yellow AMG electricbeam magno finishes
AMGCR Electric Top Gun together with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive in yellow AMG electricbeam magno finishes
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AMGCR Electric Top Gun together with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive in yellow AMG electricbeam magno finishes
Controls and engine compartment of the AMGCR Electric Top Gun
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Controls and engine compartment of the AMGCR Electric Top Gun
Dual six-motor clusters in the AMGCD Electric Top Gun engine compartment
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Dual six-motor clusters in the AMGCD Electric Top Gun engine compartment
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Control console of the AMGCR Electric Top Gun
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Control console of the AMGCR Electric Top Gun
The 240 kWh lithium-ion battery packs tip the scales at 4,840 lbs
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The 240 kWh lithium-ion battery packs tip the scales at 4,840 lbs
Dual clusters of six electric motors that power the Electric Top Gun
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Dual clusters of six electric motors that power the Electric Top Gun
See-through engine compartment of the AMGCR Electric Top Gun
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See-through engine compartment of the AMGCR Electric Top Gun
Closeup of the AMCGR Electric Top Gun's six-electric motor cluster
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Closeup of the AMCGR Electric Top Gun's six-electric motor cluster
The boat's drive is organized around a pair of prop shafts, so AMGCR tied the motors into two clusters of six motors each
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The boat's drive is organized around a pair of prop shafts, so AMGCR tied the motors into two clusters of six motors each
The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive was the inspiration for the Electric Top Gun
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The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive was the inspiration for the Electric Top Gun
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View gallery - 40 images

Mercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing (AMGCR) have launched their latest collaboration at the Miami International Boat Show. The 38-foot Top Gun Cigarette Racing hull is powered by an AMG electric drive pumping out 2,220 horsepower (1,656 kW) and 2,210 ft-lb (3,000 Nm) of torque for a top speed in excess of 100 mph (160 km/h or over 86 knots). The electrics are taken nearly whole from the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive – the world's fastest and most powerful production electric car.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive was introduced last September at the Paris Motor Show. This gullwing coupé is pushed along by a set of four electric motors, one at each wheel, together providing a total of 740 hp (552 kW) and 727 ft-lb (985 Nm) of torque. Despite hauling along an extra 1,208 lbs (548 kg) of lithium-ion batteries, the Coupé Electric Drive does 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in under four seconds and can reach a top speed of 155 mph (250 km/h).

Having chosen the Coupé Electric Drive as the inspiration for the AMGCR collaborative project, the design team selected the Cigarette Racing Top Gun as the platform upon which to build an insane electric racing boat – the Cigarette AMG Electric Drive Concept. The Top Gun is a classic cigarette boat that's been a staple of the Cigarette Racing Team for over 25 years. With a length of 37.5-feet, an 8-foot beam, and a static draft of 27-inches, your classic Top Gun is available with a pair of Mercury Racing 600 SCi inboard engines providing a total of 1,200 hp (894 kW) of pure power, easily pushing the boat into triple-digit speed.

The boat's drive is organized around a pair of prop shafts, so AMGCR tied the motors into two clusters of six motors each
The boat's drive is organized around a pair of prop shafts, so AMGCR tied the motors into two clusters of six motors each

Apparently deciding that anything worth doing is worth overdoing, AMGCR put not four, not eight, but twelve of the AMG electric motors into the new Top Gun. The boat's drive is organized around a pair of prop shafts, so AMGCR tied the motors into two clusters of six motors each, as shown above. Each cluster weighs some 600 lbs (272 kg), which saves some weight by replacing a gasoline engine weighing 1,267 lbs (575 kg). Each of the two electric motor clusters generates 1,110 hp (828 kW), putting the gasoline-powered Top Gun to shame.

The 240 kWh lithium-ion battery packs tip the scales at 4,840 lbs
The 240 kWh lithium-ion battery packs tip the scales at 4,840 lbs

This saving of weight, however, is quickly overridden by the 240 kWh lithium-ion battery packs that tip the scales at 4,840 lbs (2,200 kg). Containing a total of 3,456 lithium-ion cells, the packs store power at 400 volts so that, given normal efficiency for an electric motor, the maximum driving current is about 6,000 amperes. The boat has two chargers providing a total charging rate of 44 kW, taking about seven hours for a full charge.

The mounting of the motors and battery packs lowers the center of gravity of the Electric Top Gun, which results in a very well-behaved go-fast boat.

Control console of the AMGCR Electric Top Gun
Control console of the AMGCR Electric Top Gun

When running full-tilt, the two electric motor clusters eat a prodigious 2.4 megawatts of electric power – roughly the power requirements of a small town. This means that the batteries can only provide full power for about ten minutes. When corrected for the energy efficiency difference between electric motors and gasoline engines, the full energy capacity of the Electric Top Gun's battery pack is equivalent to about 15 gallons (56 l) of gasoline.

The AMGCR Top Gun Electric Drive is a remarkably successful design effort, which is perhaps as impressive a technology demonstrator as has appeared in boating in recent years. Ultimately, however, the design shatters on the hard rocks of inadequate batteries.

Source: Cigarette Racing Team

View gallery - 40 images
3 comments
3 comments
MQ
Nice, Now, Ditch 90% of the batteries (leave enough to power to-and-from the marina silently) and stick in a turboshaft engine or 2, mated to generators (2.5MW total), and we will have a nice flexible power delivery system, AND, the power will recharge the batteries on the run as well.... (Will still be lighter than the original engines)
Otherwise, range anxiety anyone???
Slowburn
lets make a SWAG of an equally efficient hull and the electric motors being four time as efficient as ICE and a previous Gizmag article. http://www.gizmag.com/cigarette-racing-boat-huntress-amg/26248/ The five of these bad boys at full tilt drink 2.5 US gallons (9.5 l) of premium gasoline each minute, limiting the 500 gallon (1892 l) fuel tank to just over three hours at top speed, giving a racing range of about 260 miles (415 km). gives us a estimated range as speed of 31.2 miles. Something of a joke.
Griffin
Having worked with Marine Turbines for years, I will say that when it comes to range and power to weight ratio- ONE T-58 Turbine will make power power and torque than either the Huntress or this Top Gun with less moving parts,weight or complexity. on diesel,bio-diesel,Jet A,Kerosene,Natural Gas or many other fuels.
No computer required.
The total weight,range and complexity issues of this drivetrain or the multiple outboards of the Huntress make all this highly questionable.
These boats are built as an indulgence for the rich- they are far from practical or even logical for anything other than showing off.
Even the 5 outboard set-up on the Huntress has ridiculous range limitations and has at least one of the motors onboard just to offset the extravagant redundancy of the multiple engine set-up.
You were essentially right,Brian,when you said that this system has the energy equivalent of 15 gallons of fuel but I don't think 15 gallons of fuel would last ten minutes running wide open in a 1,200 hp supercharged gasoline racing engine.
You would just about getting the motor warm and MAYBE up on top of the water with 15 gals.
When ONE 55 year old engine can puts to shame the most "advanced" marine drivetrains the industry has to offer, it is time to re-address what has been over-looked.
Jet Turbines rule when it comes to power-to-weight ratio and have parts,service and fuel available across the world 7/24/365. .
We are currently running a 325hp Turbine Outboard that makes more horsepower&torque and burns less gallons per hour than the piston engine it replaced.
It has never broken and has been tested on several different boats.
I would be glad to discuss this with anyone who is serious about performance
garronyates@yahoo.com