New all-electric liftback spotted for the first time as it prepares to take on the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan.

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The Mercedes-Benz EQS has been spied during testing on public roads, and it looks to have a design very closely related to the Vision EQS unveiled at the 2019 Frankfurt motor show. The large, swoopily-styled fastback promises to be quite a departure from the sedans in the company's current range. Up front the EQS will have large triangular headlights framing a closed-off grille. The doors feature frameless windows and flushing-fitting pop-out door handles. At the rear, this prototype is fitted with temporary tail-light units, but we can see the car will feature a liftback tailgate.

The interior features a digital free-floating digital instrumentation screen ahead of the driver. In a break with recent Mercedes-Benz tradition this display is not housed in the same pod as the infotainment touchscreen. Instead there appears to be a very large touchscreen underneath the shroud covering most of the dashboard. It will likely be connected to most of the car's systems, with physical buttons kept to an absolute minimum. Current EQ models, like the EQC crossover and EQV people mover, fit a pure electric drivetrain into a platform designed for internal combustion engines. It's thought the EQS will use the company's new dedicated EV architecture, known as MEA, and top-spec models should have at least one motor per axle to enable it to fight the Tesla Model S, Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT head on.

The Vision EQS at the Frankfurt show had 350kW of power and 760Nm of torque. With a 0-100km/h time of 4.5 seconds, it is slower the range-topping versions of the Model S and Taycan. With a 100kWh battery, the show car was said to have a driving range of around 700 kilometres using the WLTP standard. MORE: EQS coverage

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