2025 Mercedes CLA Is Already Stealing Porsche Records

The upcoming Mercedes-Benz CLA electric might be an entry-level model, but it has just managed to beat the mighty Porsche Taycan in one impressive long distance race. The CLA set a new electric car distance record, covering more miles in a 24 hour period than any production EV has ever done before.
 

Benz’s new EV covered more than 2,300 miles around a race track with clever charging and strategy, beating the Taycan by nearly 200 miles in the same challenge.
 
2,309 Miles In 24 Hours Took 40 Charge Stops
Setting a 24-hour distance record takes a lot of strategy. It’s more than just driving in a circle. In an EV, the engineers have to balance speed versus efficiency and carefully optimize the charge times and lengths based on the car’s capabilities.
 
The new CLA, a durability testing prototype grabbed from Benz’s fleet, managed 2,309 miles in 24 hours at an average speed of 96 mph. But to set that distance, the car had to be recharged 40 times.
 
That was part of the strategy. Even the fastest-charging EVs charge at their absolute peak in a small part of the battery’s state-of-charge window. Usually, that means beginning at a very low charge, something like 5 or 10%. The 800-volt architecture of the new CLA and its MMA platform lets the car suck up a lot of power in the 10-minute bursts Mercedes-Benz’s engineers stuck with, bringing it back to around 55 percent. The car sat charging for 6 hours and 40 minutes of its 24-hour total, more than 1/4 of the total time.
 

CLA’s Run Helped By Two-Speed Gearbox, Fast-Charge Boost
Sitting for almost seven hours shows how hard the team had to push the Benz when it was moving. The average speed while the car was rolling was 134 mph, a fast speed for that many hours, especially in an EV. A speed that sucks down energy because of the effects of air resistance, showing that this CLA is a very sleek car.
 
Benz has yet to say exactly how quickly the CLA and its new EVS will charge, but it has hinted that they can get almost 250 miles in just 15 minutes. That’s thanks to a new short-term boost charging function.
 
The CLA used in the test was a rear-drive model, which is more efficient than the AWD models that will also be offered. It has a two-speed transmission as part of a brand new electric drive system, which helps it maintain that high speed and also contributes to the car’s efficiency.
 
Mercedes-Benz used the Nardo Ring test track for this record-setting test. The 7.8-mile banked circle in Italy is used by many automakers for high-speed runs. It’s where Porsche set its own 24-hour distance record. Porsche actually owns the circuit, making this Benz effort a little embarrassing for the sports car brand. Expect the full reveal of the all-new Mercedes-Benz CLA sometime early in 2025.