As far as high-performance cars go, the Mercedes-AMG One is one of the most impressive technological feats of our time. Unfortunately, it’s for that very reason that Mercedes management now regrets indulging in the ambitious project. While putting an F1 powertrain into a road-going car sounds great and it has been done in the past, apparently, Mercedes management did not account for all the challenges caused by adapting a racing engine for road use.
The Mercedes-AMG One concept was introduced back in 2017 at the International Motor Show in Germany as the flagship Mercedes-AMG model. Production of the hypercar is scheduled for 2022 with a short run of 275 examples all of which are already spoken for.
The AMG One is a classic approach to making high-performance vehicles.
Källenius also said that more information about Mercedes’ F1-powered hypercar will be revealed “in a couple of weeks”. The AMG One is powered by a 1.6-liter turbocharged V-6 and three electric motors for a combined output of over 1,000 horsepower. This enables the AMG One to sprint from 0 to 124 mph (200 km/h) in 6.0 seconds and on to a top speed of 218 mph (351 km/h).
The main engineering challenge for the AMG One is getting its hybrid powertrain focused around a racing engine to comply with WLTP emissions standards. Another challenge stemming from that is the addition of a Petrol Particulate Filter (PPF) without compromising the car’s performance. Mercedes says it will post a “very honest documentary” about the AMG One’s progress.
With production scheduled to commence in 2022, we can expect that Mercedes-AMG engineers have more or less figured out how to make the F1 powertrain comply with the latest emissions standards. Unless the upcoming statement regarding the high-performance vehicle mentions another delay in production, we should be able to see the first batch of AMG Ones hit the road sometime between 2022 and 2023.