Mercedes-AMG CONCEPT GT XX just shattered the 24-hour distance record, covering an incredible 5,479 kilometers at Italy’s legendary Nardò test track. The electric powerhouse obliterated the previous record by over 1,500km – that’s 38% further than ever achieved before. This isn’t just one record broken, but 25 long-distance records claimed in a single epic run.
With the CONCEPT AMG GT XX, Mercedes-AMG sets new benchmarks and continues the brand’s decades-long tradition of relentlessly pushing the boundaries of automotive engineering. We sat down with the leaders of Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America’s eDrive Software and eDrive HV Systems departments to discuss their groundbreaking work on one of the most technologically advanced performance vehicles ever created.
Tell us about your teams and what makes them special.
“Our teams represent two sides of the same coin,” explains Marko Sinistaj, the Director of eDrive Software Department. “We’re the eDrive Software department within the RD/NAE business unit – a tight-knit group of roughly 40 engineers who specialize in complete in-house software development for electric motor controls.”
Their counterpart from the eDrive HV Systems team (Mohamad Abdul-Hak) adds, “We’re the eDrive HV Systems team, also in RD/NAE but focused on the Electrified Drive Systems. We handle everything from concept development to lifecycle management of vehicle onboard high-voltage components. Our core members (Manjit Birring, Agasthya Ayachit, Arun Sankar, Dania Waqar, Ahmed Al-maweri and Leonard Hui) were directly responsible for developing the charging system for the AMG GT XX, later coming to series production for AMG.EA platform.”
The collaboration between teams is evident as Marko continues: “What makes us unique is that we handle everything from initial architecture to final calibration, while our HV Systems colleagues ensure we have the robust electrical foundation to make it all work seamlessly.”
What were your teams’ roles in bringing this vehicle to life?
“We were responsible for the inverter firmware that controls the vehicle’s three electric motors,” shares Marko with obvious pride. “Our software is what makes those Yasa e-machines sing. We handled the architecture, motor controls, functional safety, diagnostics, and calibration. This was all done in collaboration with and under the leadership of the eDrive Systems team at AMG. The project is not our first with AMG – in fact, we have been developing electrified drive trains with AMG from the very beginning, starting with the eSLS, the P3-hybrids, the AMG One, and now with the AMG.EA drivetrain.”
The Onebox component lead (Manjit Birring) jumps in: “While they were perfecting the motor controls, we were developing the OneBox – the heart of the charging and energy conversion system. This component integrates AC grid high-voltage battery charging, a low-voltage network power converter, and an electronic fuse for high-voltage thermal management protection. Without both our contributions working in harmony, the car simply doesn’t move or charge.”
What were the biggest technical hurdles your teams had to overcome?
Marko leans forward with excitement: “This was Mercedes-Benz’s first axial-flux e-machine control system designed for mass manufacturing (and one of the first in the industry). We had to solve three major challenges: wide thermal operating ranges requiring precise rotor temperature compensation, high current harmonics that we eliminated with novel suppression algorithms, and noise and vibration issues we addressed through high-frequency current injection algorithms.”
The Onebox core members adds their perspective: “Our biggest breakthrough was variant reduction strategy. We designed a single OneBox variant that automatically adjusts to market-specific AC charging demands across all global markets. Plus, we created the first-of-its-kind electronic fuse designed for the aggressive charging and driving profiles of the AMG GT XX – all while meeting strict EMC, efficiency, and volume constraints.”
Were there any ‘eureka’ moments during development?
“Every technical solution represented a breakthrough for someone on our teams,” reflects Marko “But what’s remarkable is how our engineers approached these challenges as puzzles waiting to be solved.”
The Onebox core members share their pride: “Our eureka moment was realizing we could reduce complexity from multiple variants to a single component. This saved development costs, simplified production, and made software adaptability seamless across all markets. The electronic fuse breakthrough was equally significant – it was truly first-of-its-kind engineering.”
How did your teams work together on this project?
“Integration was everything,” emphasizes Marko. “Our work enables drivetrain operation, but it depends on the robust electrical systems our HV colleagues developed. The EDUs driving the GTXX is what will end up in customer’s cars. This is not some one-off that was only built to break a record. This is also not the first record breaking car that only moves because of the hard work of our team; the same team is also responsible for the motor control software in the EQXX and the AMG One, the most efficient Mercedes and the fastest production car ever around the Nürburgring test track”
Manjit Birring adds: “We organized the sample build with supplier to support the AMG GTXX charging system integration, ensuring they could hit peak performance during both driving and charging without sacrificing hardware reliability or software integrity. It was true collaboration – we enabled each other’s success.”
What’s it like being part of a record-breaking project?
The Software team’s pride is unmistakable: “We’re part of the team working on the record drive attempt. Our engineers have made multiple trips to Germany, and right now they’re on-call 24/7 as the record drive is happening. They might get called at 3 AM, and they’re ready.”
The HV Systems team shares a memorable perspective: “The sun never sets for the AMG OneBox team. Working with AMG and MBRDI, we functioned as one global team that relentlessly pursued evolving targets while keeping spirits high. We genuinely enjoyed the entire development experience, despite the challenges.”
What does this project mean for the future?
“This isn’t just about one incredible car,” both teams emphasize. “The innovations we’ve developed are laying the groundwork for the AMG.EA platform and production programs coming next year and beyond.”The HV Systems lead adds: “Our colleagues from RD/NAE OBD (Tobias Hauser and Namhyo Kim) ensures OBD compliance and RD/NAV (Jay Viashnav and Mayur Jain) ensures Charging Interoperability for series vehicles verification. Last but not least we would also like to recognize the MBRDNA workshop support in Ann Arbor (John Weston, Brenden Preiss) and Long-Beach (Like Roina, Jose Rizo and Clement Nicolas) for their effort in having the MBRDNA development vehicles ready for our internal testing. Every breakthrough becomes part of the foundation for the next generation. Just to add Prioritizing the customer experience, the AMG.EA platform will fully support the North American Charging Standard (NACS). This marks the first time a Mercedes-Benz vehicle will feature a single charging port.
As our conversation winds down, there’s a moment of reflection that captures something essential about what drove these teams through months of 18-hour days and middle-of-the-night troubleshooting calls.
“At the end of the day,” they say, almost in unison, “we’re not just writing code or developing components. We’re creating experiences.”
It’s a simple statement that reveals something profound. When someone plugs in their future AMG.EA vehicle at home and watches it charged with perfect efficiency, that’s these teams’ work. When they press the accelerator and feel that instant, precise power delivery that defines electric performance, that’s innovation made tangible.
“That’s what gets us up every morning,” MBRDNA’s technical experts conclude, “ready to solve the next impossible problem together.”
And as the automotive world continues to grapple with the transition to electric powertrains, it’s clear that the impossible problems are just getting more interesting. Fortunately, teams like these seem to have developed a taste for turning the impossible into the inevitable – one breakthrough at a time.
The Mercedes-AMG CONCEPT GT XX record represents more than just automotive achievement – it’s proof that when brilliant minds collaborate across continents and time zones, they can rewrite the rules of what’s possible. The 5,479 kilometers covered at Nardò weren’t just distance traveled; they were a journey into the future of performance engineering.