This, ladies and gentlemen, is it. The Mercedes-AMG Project One hypercar has finally been fully revealed – albeit in “show car” form – at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The Stuttgart automaker describes the new model as a “two-seater supersports show car” that brings “fully fledged Formula 1 hybrid technology” to the road. It adds that the “concept car gives specific indications of what to expect” from the upcoming production model.
“The hypercar is the most ambitious project we have every undertaken. It marks yet another pinnacle of the successful, strategic development of Mercedes-AMG towards a performance and sports car brand,” said Tobias Moers, who heads up Mercedes-AMG.
So, just how close to an “F1 car for the road” is the mid-engined Project One, which boasts a carbon-fibre monocoque body? Very, it seems. The powertrain comprises one hybrid, turbocharged combustion engine with a total of four electric motors. Interestingly, one of the motors has been integrated into the turbocharger and another installed directly on the combustion engine with a link to the crankcase, while the two remaining motors drive the front wheels (thus effectively making it all-wheel drive).
Indeed, Mercedes says the 1,6-litre V6 hybrid petrol engine with direct injection and electrically assisted single turbocharging “comes directly from the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 racing car”. The brand says the engine can “easily reach speeds of 11 000 r/min”, but adds that this remains significantly below the F1 engine speed limit for the sake of “higher longevity” and since it will run on commercially available petrol rather than racing fuel.
What this all translates to is a system output of more than 740 kW and a top speed in excess of 350 km/h. The claimed 0-200 km/h time? Less than six seconds…
The Mercedes-AMG Project One employs a new eight-speed transmission that the brand says has been “entirely developed from scratch”. It is activated hydraulically and can be operated in automated mode or manually using the shift paddles.
Mercedes-AMG promises that the Project One will “not only be an ultimate driving machine”, but will also allow the automaker to “obtain extensive findings about performance-oriented plug-in hybrid drive technology” to later benefit series production AMG cars. So, yes, this is very much a taste of what’s to come from Affalterbach…
