Story: Michael Crenshaw
Photos: Courtesy of Cigarette Racing & Mercedes-AMG

You think James “Sonny” Crockett and Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs would’ve looked as suave if they were behind the helm of an all-electric speedboat? Imagine a silent ocean, as two pastel-clad heroes come whizzing past on a stealthy mission to fight crime, stop the drug lord and get the girl—in almost anticlimactic style, thanks to zero pollution and zero noise. Weird but fascinating, right?

Forget pink—AMG Electricbeam Magno is the new color of Miami, and leaving a wake to follow is the Miami-built Cigarette AMG Electric Drive Concept, the bastard love child of Cigarette Racing and Mercedes-AMG. Forget power, this thing has power—2,220 horsepower, or 1,656 kilowatts, to be exact. It’s the same technology that powers the accompanying SLS AMG electric sports car, except in place of four liquid-cooled permanent-magnet synchronous electric motors independently driving the four wheels, there are 12 electric motors powering two drive units (six motors on each unit), each turning its own transmission on the Cigarette boat.

With two powerhouses within their respective expertises (boating and automobiles), the conceptual boat highlights high performance with their collaboration on both form and function. The motors will propel this whirring vessel to a top speed of more than 100 mph while maintaining good handling characteristics, thanks to a low center of gravity and well-thought-out weight distribution.

Mercedes-AMG used their close relationship with AMG High Performance Powertrains Ltd., based in England, to develop the batteries, which are also fine-tuned in the world of high-performance Formula One racing. With four liquid-cooled, lithium-ion, high-voltage batteries, the Electric Drive Concept is basically the Funny Car of the ocean—and with over 2,200 lb.-ft. of torque available almost instantly, you better be holding onto your lunch, ’cause this Kermit-looking green machine will leapfrog you into the next nautical mile.

With a running time of an hour and a half, you’re going to need to charge up eventually. Thankfully, the ever-courteous people at Cigarette and Mercedes-AMG adapted the speedboat to fit the infrastructures of American marinas, which will allow the boat to become fully charged in seven hours. This allows you enough time to get hungover and then sleep off that hangover on whatever remote island you’re capturing while the boat sucks up its juice. And if you’re in a rush, an optional set of four onboard chargers reduces the time to less than three hours. Party on.

Since the cockpit is where you’ll be for your eco-conscious time travel, the collaboration continues with Cigarette Racing seats—etched with the number 38, designating the length of the boat in feet. And the slick instrument display from the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive caps off the cabin.

So would Tubbs and Crockett rock it? The answer is a loud—er, quiet “Hell yes.” The Miami Vice boys would certainly rock this technological watercraft, because the good guys always have to have an advantage, and being silent but deadly is one of the greatest.

Photos: Mercedes-Benz