The all-new Mercedes-AMG ONE will only be produced in 275 units, and job #1 of the limited-edition production of the hypercar (combined weighted fuel consumption: 8.7 L/100 km; combined weighted CO2 emissions: 198 g/km; combined weighted electrical consumption: 32.0 kWh/100 km) has just started. This year, the first customer vehicles will be delivered.
The hybrid powertrain with a 1.6-litre V6 turbo engine and four electric motors is being built by Mercedes-AMG High-Performance Powertrains in Brixworth (England), which is also responsible for developing and manufacturing the power units for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 racing cars. The entire vehicle will be manufactured in Coventry, England. AMG collaborated with manufacturing partner Multimatic to establish a dedicated small series production facility for this purpose.
“The Mercedes-AMG ONE is the most ambitious project we have ever undertaken – from development to production. It marks another high point in Mercedes-AMG’s successful strategic development toward an electrified Future of Driving Performance. The production of the exclusive small series is a truly unique challenge. For the first time, the hypercar brings current Formula 1 hybrid technology almost one-to-one from the racetrack to the road and combines overwhelming performance with exemplary efficiency. This world-first is now becoming a reality thanks to the great teamwork between Mercedes-AMG in Affalterbach, the Formula 1 experts at Mercedes-AMG High-Performance Powertrains in Brixworth, and our production partner Multimatic. We as a whole team are very proud to have now started production of the first customer vehicles,” says Philipp Schiemer, Chairman of Mercedes-AMG GmbH’s Board of Management.
The exclusive car production is done entirely by hand at 16 assembly and testing stations. Many work steps are similar to those used in the production of high-quality luxury watches: some sub-systems are first pre-assembled and tested for function, then disassembled and finally installed in the vehicle. This includes the carbon-fibre monocoque with bonded-in roof, as well as all detachable body parts made of the light and stable – but also expensive – material. The outer skin is the first to be fully assembled. All of the fits are now meticulously checked and, if necessary, size adjusted. This is the only way to achieve an evenly spaced joint pattern. The specialists must consider the final lacquering, which adds its own material thickness, during the process. Given that the carbon’s wall thickness is only 1.2 millimeters in some places, this is a highly difficult and specialized task. Once everything is perfectly fit, parts such as doors and bonnets are dismantled and hand-painted as a car set for each individual vehicle, ensuring the perfect color match of the entire vehicle.
The powertrain and the body-in-white are assembled in the following step: The 1.6-litre V6 turbo engine, the high-voltage battery, and all four electric machines have previously been hot tested on test benches at Brixworth to ensure they are healthy and performant, exactly as Mercedes’ Formula 1 power units are. Mercedes-AMG High-Performance Powertrains provides the corresponding units: the eTurbo hybrid combustion engine, the plug-in hybrid’s high-voltage battery, the front axle with two electric machines, and the power electronics, which includes an inverter for each of the four electric motors. Before the high-voltage components are installed, 75 percent of the parts are already assembled.
A general overview of the production steps, which are organized into 16 major stations
- Station 1 to 4: Installation of the necessary powertrain components, including the vehicle’s electrics, as well as the mechanical parts and all low-voltage components.
- Station 5 to 6: High-voltage battery and connection assembly, combustion engine and electric motor testing, and vehicle commissioning are all steps in the process.
- Station 7: Interior installation.
- Station 8: Installation of doors and quarter panels, as well as exterior body panels, begins. The pre-finished body panels—front clam, rear clam, quarter panels, and doors—meet the main assembly line during this process from the facility’s subassembly area. The unique challenge in this instance is also brought on by the frequently very dissimilar customer wishes.
- Station 9: Continue exterior installation. Front and rear clam.
- Station 10: Final installation of exterior body.
- Station 11: Assembly of wheels and floor panels.
- Station 12: Adjustment of wheels and headlamps.
- Station 13: Roller dynamometer for testing the vehicle in all driving modes.
- Station 14: Four-post NVH test (noise, vibration, harshness), fine-tuning if necessary.
- Station 15: Monsoon rain test.
- Station 16: Light booth with visual inspection of all surfaces and technical function tests of all
components.
On each Mercedes-AMG ONE, more than 50 specialists collaborate. Comprehensive documentation of the production process is produced as a result of thorough quality checks based on predetermined characteristics performed after each station. Modern Industry 4.0 production techniques, which Mercedes-AMG also employs at the Affalterbach facility to produce AMG engines, complement the meticulous manufacturing process. Components are thus available at precisely the right time in the right location and are pre-sorted in coordinated sets in material carriers.
A roll-out at a nearby testing facility, where each Mercedes-AMG ONE is given a final acceptance test by a factory test driver, marks the completion of the production process. As soon as they give their approval, the car is given the proper transport protection and driven in a closed truck to the Mercedes-AMG corporate office in Affalterbach. The handover of the vehicle and the technical vehicle briefing by the Mercedes-AMG ONE specialists both take place there.
