The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX concept car just did something almost no other EV had when it traveled for over 621 miles (1,000 km) on a single charge. The test puts Tesla to shame when it comes to range.

Yes, that’s about double the range of your typical electric vehicle. Mercedes introduced the Vision EQXX earlier this year as a test vehicle to experiment with different battery technologies and efficiency, and it’s already paying off. The street-legal concept managed to drive for 11 hours and 32 minutes, topping 600 miles on the journey.

What’s even more impressive is the vehicle had battery leftover, too. According to Mercedes, the average consumption was a record-breaking low of 8.7 kWh per 100 km (7.1 kWh per 62 miles), and at the end of the trip, the car had roughly 15% of its battery remaining. So if it continued until empty, it could have topped 700-miles without a recharge.

While the first part of the EQXX’s journey went through the Autobahn at 87 mph, the rest of the trip took place across several European cities. Starting in Sindelfingen, Germany, then making its way through the Swiss Alps, into Milan, then ending in a town south of France. The average overall speed was 54 mph.

It’s important to remember that while the Mercedes in this test is street legal, this is a concept car that you won’t be able to buy anytime soon. However, the company will use the technology and information from the test to improve upcoming EVs. And who knows, this concept vehicle could eventually become a reality and take on the Porsche Taycan and Tesla’s upcoming Roadster.

Mercedes credits the incredible feat to a wide array of changes you wouldn’t see in a typical EV today. Some of those are aluminum disc brakes, high-silicon anode batteries, carbon-fiber-sugar composites, improved heat pumps, and a unique cooling system for the battery.

For what it’s worth, we’ve seen Elon Musk state that a Tesla could do this, but the company doesn’t feel like it needs to. And that anything over 400 miles of range doesn’t matter, and at that point, the vehicle is simply carrying around excess weight. All that weight ends up decreasing acceleration and handling. Then again, Tesla’s upcoming Roadster promises a 600-mile range.

Either way, this is a sign that range anxiety could be a thing of the past, and hopefully, Mercedes will use what it learned to build better EVs in the future.

via The Verge