By: Double Apex
Stuttgart - When the Mercedes-AMG One concept appeared at the Frankfurt Show in 2016, many people may have thought it would never become a production reality. Mercedes were trying the ambitious task of taking a fully fledged Formula One engine and building a road-going car around it. Well, the Mercedes-AMG One debuts this week to silence all detractors.
“With the Mercedes-AMG One, we have more than pushed the envelope. The immense technical challenges of making a modern Formula 1 powertrain suitable for everyday road use have undoubtedly pushed us to our limits. Over the duration of the development period, many may have thought that the project would be impossible to implement. Nevertheless, the teams in Affalterbach and the UK never gave up and believed in themselves. I have the highest respect for all those involved and am proud of this team achievement.”, says Philipp Schiemer, chairman of the board of management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.
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Mercedes-AMG One debuts in final form in a shape we are quite familiar with. There were no real surprises when the pics of the Mercedes-AMG One were released by the company. The final product didn’t stray too far from the concept or the subsequent mules seen testing and shown by Mercedes.
The Mercedes-AMG One is unique in that most automakers design a car, then decide what engine should power it. In this case that was reversed. Mercedes-AMG knew what engine they wanted and designed a car around it. As a result the shape was determined by what is underneath. Airflow, cooling and downforce requirements were all responsible for the shape you see above.
Click here to read about the most expensive car in the world, also a Mercedes that was based on an racecar.
AMG undertook the major task of taking a race-bred, highly complex engine and making it usable on the road. Of course, the car has an extreme high-performance slant, but it had to have a fair deal more usability than the weekend machine of Lewis Hamilton.
Under the rear engine cover is the same 1.6-litre turbocharged engine as found in previous championship-winning Mercedes F1 cars. The V6 spins to a glorious 11 000rpm. It is force-fed 3.5 bars of pressure by a single turbocharger with electric assist to produce 422kW on its own. Remember, that’s on pump gas.
Four electric motors are added to the powertrain equation. Two are located in front, one at each wheel, while a third is mated to the crankshaft. In addition a fourth motor is part of the high-tech turbocharger assembly. Each contributes to the total system power output of the hypercar, which is quoted as 782kW. Thanks to the electric motors and battery packs the One can travel 25km in pure EV mode.
Mercedes says the One will accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 2.9 seconds thanks, in part, to the all-wheel-drive system and launch control function of newly developed seven-speed automated transmission. A 0-200km/h time of just 7 seconds flat is even more impressive, by comparison a current F1 car takes about 4.5 seconds to hit 200. The AMG One will do 352km/h flat out.
The AMG One runs on 19-inch forged alloys at the front and 20-inch items at the rear, both with centre-locks. These are shod with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R M01 tyres, which were developed exclusively for the hypercar. The braking system consists of 398 mm/380 mm discs front and rear. The carbon ceramic discs are clamped by six-piston calipers up front and four pot items at the rear.
Racecar derived
The Mercedes-AMG One is based around a carbon-fibre monocoque, much like a pukka racecar. In addition the outer shape is also formed from the same lightweight material. Furthermore, it has racecar-derived suspension front and rear that consists of push-rods, in-board coil/dampers and aluminium links.
There is also a great deal of active aero at play. There’s an active spoiler on the front, ventilation ‘gills’ on the front fenders, and an adjustable rear wing. Downforce levels are increased as more racy modes (Race Plus and Strat2) are selected. In contrast to those modes there is also a DRS (drag reduction system) setting, which is reduces mode for reaching top speed.
The Mercedes-AMG One debuts without a list price and a confirmed production volume. Although, from previous announcements, the company was aiming to build 275 units and they were all spoken for some time ago.
Story courtesy of Double Apex