Wow.

Just wow.

What an exhilarating, exciting and yes, electrifying era it is.

Sitting in front-row seats to history as the invention that has helped shape modern life – the motor car – lurches from a glorious past into the future.

Appropriately, it’s all happening at warp speed as the heavyweights of this suddenly energised industry rush to roll out visions of how life, and transport, will look in the future.

It seems like every other week there’s another interpretation of the motoring future revealed – whether it be electric or some other propulsion. Not for very much longer will it involve fossil fuels.

Already some of the most astonishing cars have emerged from the most unlikely of sources.

Relative fledglings of the motor industry, the ambitious manufacturers from China and Korea are showing the way with more models, offered at lower prices. The Europeans are catching up fast, thanks largely to the emissions targets that are demanding cleaner cars for choked cities.

The Americans appear not to have noticed there’s a race underway.

The European invasion is picking up speed, literally, Down Under. Porsche, the master of performance for more than 70 years, has created the stunning Taycan Turbo S – an electric car with rocket-like acceleration. BMW is barely a step behind with its iX, an SUV that pumps out as much as 455kW and 1100Nm from twin electric motors.

Audi is soon to launch its own rocketship called the E-Tron GT, with performance to rival its corporate sibling at Porsche.

And this one just might trump them all.

It’s Mercedes-Benz’s AMG EQS 53, the marque’s first foray into the “pure” electric pond – a clean sheet, purpose-built machine that marries luxury with stunning dynamics.

Beautiful, fearsome and feline all at once.

It combines brutal acceleration with refinement and luxury not previously seen in this sector. Mercedes even hails it as the first player in the electric limousine ranks.

In fact, it’s not exactly a Mercedes-Benz at all. The AMG EQS 53 is actually designed and built by Benz’s hot-rod division in Affalterbach, one of just two AMG-only models to have been produced. The other is the AMG-GT which, curiously enough, loses its mantle as the brand’s fastest machine thanks to the arrival of this physics-defying EQS.

In its most potent form it delivers thunderous performance statistics (560kW, 1020Nm) when optioned with a $7690 Dynamic Plus package.

That’s on top of a “base” model that costs $348,400 plus about $40k in on-road charges. That machine makes do with 484kW and 950Nm.

The tweaked EQS doesn’t quite match the Porsche Taycan for speed – the Benz hits 100km/h in 3.4 seconds while the Porsche cracks the three-second barrier.

But keep in mind that the EQS offers more space and practicality than the SUV-styled Beemer. It has a 580-litre luggage capacity beneath that raking rear window.

And just for good measure, it’s every bit as plush and filled with technology as Benz’s legendary S-Class, although it costs a hefty hundred grand more than that traditional flagship.

However it’s not strictly an S-Class clone. Rather, its graceful, ethereal lines evoke the CLS 4-door coupe and even gets the same frameless windows as the CLS, the only other Benz to do so.

That swoopy design, with all four wheels pushed towards the corners, plus its lack of a transmission tunnel, frees up surprisingly generous interior space. Two six-footers could sit comfortably in the front and rear seats and still have about 15cm spare leg room. Head space is less generous, but a scalloped recess in the roof ensures comfort once safely inside.

Its silent drivetrain only emphasises the lack of sound coming from other sources (not counting the glorious audio system). There’s the option of an artificially-created “engine noise” that reduces the chance of sneaking up on unsuspecting pedestrians

The EQS is very much a technological poster-child. That’s most evident when sliding into the plush leather seats and settling behind the chunky steering wheel (with almost as many functions as that of a Formula 1 machine).

The cockpit is dominated by a mammoth “hyperscreen” that stretches from one side of the car to the other – 56-inches wide and home to almost every function and feature. The front-seat passenger can even customise the section above the glove box to bring up a menu of favourite functions (ie audio, climate control or sat nav).

Porsche has a similar screen in its Taycan but its dimensions are dwarfed by the Benz version.

For such a big car (5.2m long, weighing 2655kg) the EQS is remarkably nimble and responsive, no surprise given AMG’s experience building big, fast cars.

Its cruising range is 587km which pretty- much puts any range anxiety questions to bed.

The car’s slippery shape helps it achieve an almost negligible and astonishing drag coefficient of 0.23Cd.

The EQS steers with both the front and rear wheels – which can be had in either 21-inch or 22-inch radius.

In a sense, all of this technology has rekindled what was once a Mercedes-Benz modus operandi – to showcase its latest technical developments in its flagship model (previously the S-Class) and then trickle those advancements through the model range.

A little irritating is that, even at its soaring price, Benz has the hide to ask $9290 for an “energising comfort package” which brings air purifier, wellness programs and heated seats all round. There’s also a $2690 augmented reality head-up display, a night package ($3990) and home charger wallbox ($1450).

The lucky few owners might just be watching history in the making.

MERCEDES-BENZ AMG EQS 53

* HOW BIG? Its ultra modern lines help disguise its size, but the EQS offers massive interior space, huge cargo capacity and an imposing road presence.

* HOW FAST? Staggeringly. Despite being a full-sized luxury limousine, it brings supercar performance (0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds).

* HOW THIRSTY? Massive batteries bring a claimed range of 587km. The EQS comes with three years of complimentary charging. It will reach 80 per cent charge in half an hour at public fast-charge units.

* HOW MUCH? $348,400 plus about $40k in state and government taxes. That’s comparable to the price of the rival Porsche Taycan.