Mercedes-AMG’s promise to keep sales of the Project One hypercar exclusive is taking shape after reports that prospective buyers will have to sign contracts that include clauses preventing them from flipping their vehicles in the second-hand market immediately. Apparently, Mercedes-AMG is making it crystal clear to people with build slots for the Project One that the practice of flipping won’t be tolerated. It’s a move that other automakers have done in recent years, including Aston Martin and Ford, both of whom included similar clauses to customers of the Valkyrie and GT, respectively.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, especially those who have already caught wind of what Aston Martin, Ford, and in its own way, Porsche have done with the release of their own exotics. Aston Martin, in particular, has made it clear that anyone who’s caught reselling the Valkyrie will be banned from buying future Aston models. If you think that’s bad, Ford is actually suing GT owners if they’re caught doing the same with the GT supercar. John Cena would know. And then there’s Porsche, which responded to the scalping of the 911 R by introducing the 911 GT3 Touring.

Mercedes-AMG isn’t going to be any different. It’s unclear what actions the German automaker plans to take if one of the prospective owners of the Project One gets caught trying to flip the car, but it is worth mentioning that there have been a few instances when build slots for the hypercar have been put up in the market, including one back in November where someone was asking $5.2 million for his build slot. That’s almost double the original $2.7 million price tag Mercedes-AMG slapped on its prized exotic.

It’s not out of the ordinary for automakers to take these steps, and it probably wouldn’t be the last time we see a company be super cautious about seeing its multi-million rides end up in the Internet classifieds. There’s a responsibility that comes with protecting the integrity of these exotics. They just can’t be used as tools to make money. These companies spend millions on researching and developing these hypercars so that those who buy them can feel justified in spending that much money on a car.

Mercedes-AMG’s contractual clause should be strict. More importantly, it should be followed. The Project One is arguably the automaker’s most exclusive vehicle, a distinction that shouldn’t be taken lightly when you consider the German automaker’s long and rich history in the auto industry. There’s a reason the car costs $2.7 million, too.

Combine all these factors and it’s easy to understand why Mercedes-AMG is so protective of the Project One. A car like this is a generational machine that people will be talking about for years, maybe even generations. Protecting its legacy by preventing it from being flipped around like a used rug is absolutely the right call. Hopefully, those who do have build slots for the hypercar are aware of what’s at stake, because if they aren’t they could find themselves in a lot of trouble.

References

Mercedes-AMG Project One

Read our full review on the 2020 Mercedes-AMG Project One.

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