For many car manufacturers, the idea of getting a Formula 1 engine and F1 levels of performance into a road car seemed pretty fanciful. Especially once the sport had adopted turbo hybrid V6 engines into its regulations from 2014 onwards. When this came into being, it was Mercedes Benz who became the dominant force in the championship. And that gave them a bit of an idea. What if they were to create a supercar, with an engine derived from their Formula 1 car? And soon, that idea became reality.
Well, after a few years anyway. The car dubbed the Mercedes-AMG Project ONE was first shown off in 2017, and the idea behind it was to incorporate the 2016 Mercedes F1 engine into the car. This, with insane levels of aerodynamic performance, would hopefully propel the car to new levels of performance. But developing this machine proved to be a much trickier task than the company first envisioned. But some five years after we first saw it, the new Mercedes-AMG One is finally here for us to enjoy. It might well be late, but it looks like the wait was ultimately worth it.
Getting To Know The AMG One
To understand the new car, it is important to understand what lies under the hood. Under the hood of this epic Mercedes is a version of the F1 EQ POWER+ engine that since 2014 has led Mercedes to every constructor’s title in the sport. Although that looks like it is under threat in 2022, but we digress. Since the project was announced, Mercedes has added five more titles to its name, taking it to eight overall. And the engine is made in the same AMG engine factory in Brixworth that builds the F1 engine.
So, at the crux of it, is a 1.6-liter V6 internal combustion engine. The engine alone produces 566 hp. Not bad, but not crazy power levels. But then we add in the four electric motors, two at the front and two at the rear. These all combine with the V6 engine to produce 1,048 hp. Now, there might be cars nowadays that have more power than this. And indeed, the Bugatti Veyron beat the AMG One to the 1,000 hp mark. But that is still an impressive number. The V6 engine marries several elements from different generations of the F1 engine to create a bespoke unit for the supercar.
Active Aerodynamics For Unrivaled Performance
It isn’t just in the engine department where the AMG One excels. The active aero features on this car are, if anything, more futuristic than its powertrain. The car has three main active aero elements. The moveable flaps into the front diffuser are the first of those. Then there are the front wheel arch vents, which look like gills when fully deployed. And of course, there is the moveable rear wing. The AMG One ironically has more active aero than any of the recent Mercedes F1 cars!
Of course, the idea of the active aero is to produce max downforce in the corners and then reduce the drag down the straights. The flaps on the front wheel arches though are there to reduce internal pressure within the wheel wells. And they achieve this by extracting the air through them. They are perhaps more of a visual item than a functional one, as they don’t really do much other than keep the arches cleaner than without them. But they certainly look cool, and this car is all about looking car. And of course, there is the shark fin that sits in the middle of the rear section of the car, similar to the shark fin on the 2017 Mercedes F1 car.
The Saga Of The AMG One
Mercedes had no idea how long this project would take. At the time, the company had seen McLaren, Porsche and Ferrari dominate the hpercar world, and they wanted in on that action. At the same time, Aston Martin were working with Red Bull Racing to create the Valkyire, the AMG One’s main rival. Both projects hit various snags, with the complexity of them catching their respective builders unawares. And while the issues for the cars have left them both very late, we are left with two utterly amazing machines.
What It Worth The Wait?
Well, the short answer is yes. The long answer is of course it was. While there are faster cars out there, there aren’t any as technologically mad as the AMG One. The idea of bringing Formula 1 technology to the road is nothing new, and the McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder all did that to a degree. But no one has done it as boldly as Mercedes with the AMG One. It is perhaps one of the last, truly mad and insane hypercars projects we will ever see. And we should cherish it for what it is. A bonkers, brilliant and utterly beautiful car. We are so thankful it is finally finished.
Source: Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG
