Completely road legal
The Mercedes-AMG One, the German carmaker’s multimillion-pound hypercar with a powertrain derived from its championship-winning F1 machines, has set a new production car lap record at the Nürburgring Norsdschleife racing circuit in Germany.
With a time of 6min 35.183sec and with German touring car driver Maro Engel behind the wheel, the record lap means Mercedes-AMG reclaims the title of the fastest production car around the fearsome 13-mile circuit.
Prior to the Mercedes-AMG’s most recent Nürburgring assault, the production car lap record had been 6min 43.300sec, set in 2021 by the Porsche 911 GT2 RS Manthey-Racing — a car with a power deficit of at least 300bhp compared with the AMG One.
Before that, Engel had held the title with a time of 6min 48.047sec in a Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, meaning the new record is a return to the top for the German driver.
The AMG One lap record saw Engel take to the track on October 28 in less than perfect conditions, with the circuit still damp and dirty following rain, suggesting that an even faster time may have been possible. Even so, during the run the car hit a top speed of 210mph.
“I didn’t expect that we would be able to set such a lap time with these track conditions,” said Engel.
“In some crucial areas of the track, it hadn’t dried completely yet and was therefore tricky. That was a special challenge.”
Engel’s experience as a winner of the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race in 2016 may have made him one of the best men for the job.
The AMG One strictly adhered to the rules for Nürburgring production car records, using Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres fitted to the customer cars. Mercedes says the vehicle that made the record run is identical to the long-awaited standard model set to be delivered to customers before the end of the year.
While the term “racing car for the road” gets bandied about a lot, the AMG One has more claim to the description than most.
The model is powered by a 1,048bhp hybrid system derived from Mercedes’ F1 powertrains and uses a 566bhp 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 petrol engine (which can rev to 11,000rpm) in combination with four electric motors to achieve its 0-62mph time of 2.9 seconds and potential top speed of 218mph.
The first of the motors is located on the rear axle and supports the engine with an additional 161bhp. Two more act on the front axle to develop a combined 322bhp, while the fourth electric motor is responsible only for keeping the turbocharger spinning in order to improve throttle response (similarly to the system seen in the recently-unveiled Mercedes-AMG C 63).
Another nod to its F1 background is the fact that the AMG One’s engine and seven-speed gearbox is used as a stressed chassis member, as in an F1 car.
But while it’s a hybrid, don’t expect much in the way of eco-credentials. That drivetrain exists purely to capitalise on the performance potential of electric motors and, while it is capable of some electric-only running, a mere 11 miles of range goes to underscore that zero-emission motoring isn’t really the point of this car.
Despite the complexity of its powertrain, the AMG One is relatively light at 1,695kg, largely thanks to its carbon-fibre body panels.
As well as that race-derived powertrain, some of the aerodynamic modes will be familiar to F1 fans.
The Highway setting closes the wheel arch louvres, stalls the active flaps on the front diffuser and fixes the rear wing in its retracted position for reduced drag.
Track mode opens the louvres and extends the front diffuser and rear wing flap to increase downforce five-fold compared to Highway.
Finally, the Race DRS mode can be activated at the touch of a button, just like in an F1 car, reducing drag and downforce (by 20% or so, according to Mercedes) to allow the AMG One to reach speeds closer to its v-max (maximum speed).
Although the Mercedes-AMG One has been through a protracted development period (the concept was first unveiled back in 2017) production has now begun with plans to build just 275 examples, all of which are already sold at a price of around £2.5m.
Some of the owners include the seven-time F1 world champion and current Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton (who has bought two) with ex-F1 David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg and the actor Mark Wahlberg also numbering among the AMG One’s customers.
- If you were interested in the new Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record for the Mercedes-AMG One, you might like to check out how the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ got on around the track in 2018
- Want to know how quickly a Porsche Taycan electric car can lap the Nordschleiefe? Click here
- You might also like to check out our review of the 1,874bhp Pininfarina Battista hypercar
Keyword: Mercedes-AMG One takes Nürburgring production car lap record crown from Porsche