After five years we finally get to see what the production Mercedes-AMG One will look like
- New 2022 Mercedes-AMG One: engine and performance
- Mercedes-AMG One: design, interior and aerodynamics
The long-awaited One hypercar will be unveiled on 1 June, according to a new teaser video posted by Mercedes-AMG.
While the short clip doesn’t give much away, we can see the front and rear wings, roofline and roof-mounted engine intake all remain true to the prototype version.
We’ve been made to wait some time for the One, first shown in concept form in 2017, with a difficult development phase hit by several engineering setbacks and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The AMG One won’t have the hypercar class to itself either. There’s also the Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 and the Aston Martin Valkyrie – the latter being another new hypercar experiencing teething issues before launch.
The AMG One uses an F1-derived hybrid powertrain and a whole host of aggressive aero appendages designed to make it as fast as possible around a race track.
Mercedes hasn’t released any new images of the hypercar, but our most recent spy shots give a good indication of how it will look, and the brand has given us several official images and videos of the Project One in prototype guise.
For the past few months, Mercedes-AMG’s engineers have been putting the £2.4 million One hypercar through its paces, making sure its electrical system and complex Formula 1 title-winning hybrid power unit offers the driveability buyers expect from a production car.
A previous teaser also offered a glimpse at the hypercar’s production-ready interior. It includes a digital rear view mirror, which is a necessity as the rear space normally reserved for a rear window is obscured by a louvred engine cover and an enormous F1-style shark fin.
Certain elements of the car’s design have been refined from earlier prototypes, too. The latest prototypes caught testing feature new road-relevant elements such as larger door mirrors on longer stalks and a triple-exit exhaust system, which mimics that of the German brand’s F1 car.
New 2022 Mercedes-AMG One: engine and performance
When it arrives, the Mercedes-AMG One could be one of closest things we’ll ever see to a Formula 1 car for the road. It uses a version of the 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 hybrid engine that has powered Mercedes to seven drivers’ championships and eight constructors’ F1 titles since 2014. It’s also assembled in the same Mercedes High Performance Powertrains plant in Brixworth.
The V6’s 11,000rpm rev limit is lower than the 15,000rpm cap forced on Formula 1 cars. But the One’s plug-in hybrid system, which features four electric motors in total, compensates by delivering more electrical output.
One of the electric motors is mounted to the turbocharger, to spin the impeller up to speed and reduce turbo lag, while another is attached to the crankcase to top-up the 1.6-litre engine’s output with an extra 161bhp, feeding off excess energy from the turbo system. Two more 161bhp motors drive the front wheels to give the AMG One four-wheel drive.
Mercedes says the AMG One’s combined 986bhp is enough for a top speed in excess of 217mph, while 0–124mph is dealt with in less than six seconds. No 0–62mph figure has been given at this stage, although it’s likely to be less than three seconds.
Unlike the hybrid powertrains used in F1, which only provide an electrical boost to the combustion engine, the AMG-One’s hybrid system can drive the wheels directly, allowing for short-range zero-emissions running.
The electric motors are fed by a bank of lithium-ion cells, mounted on the chassis behind the front axle. They’re identical in type and arrangement to those used in the Mercedes F1 car, although the AMG One’s battery has far more cells, which offer enough power for an electric-only range of around 15.5 miles.
With the front axle motors, the Mercedes-AMG One can recuperate up to 80 per cent of the braking energy produced under normal driving conditions to be stored for later use, while independent acceleration and braking on each wheel means they can act as a torque vectoring system. The rear wheels receive drive from a brand new eight-speed gearbox, which can be operated via shift paddles on the steering wheel.
As well as offering an all-electric driving mode, the AMG One will feature a “highly dynamic” mode, which Mercedes says uses comparable settings to those used by its Formula 1 racer during qualifying laps. The driving mode automatically switches between combustion and electric drive for the best performance. In addition, the AMG One’s combustion engine will be able to cover the equivalent of over a quarter of an F1 season before it needs servicing.
Mercedes-AMG One: design, interior and aerodynamics
Mercedes describes the cabin as “Formula 1 for two.” Inside, there’ll be a pair of heavily bolstered bucket seats with adjustable backrests and an F1-inspired square steering wheel. The skinny, uncluttered carbon-fibre dashboard will house two 10-inch displays: one behind the steering wheel and the other mounted in the centre console. A third screen is linked to a camera on the car’s rear bumper and acts as a rear-view mirror.
The AMG One’s front end is dominated by a collection of huge vents on the front apron and beneath the windscreen, while a pair of flat LED headlights are sunk into the bonnet. Naked carbon aerodynamic flaps are pinned to the car’s sculpted sides, while an air intake perched on the roof feeds the combustion engine.
Around the back, an F1-style shark fin sits above the engine compartment and divides the rear end, while a huge rear diffuser and retractable rear spoiler are also present to provide plenty of downforce. Active aero is found at the front too, with an extending front splitter and movable flaps positioned over the front wheels. The body itself is a carbon-fibre monocoque, but Mercedes has not revealed how much the AMG One concept weighs.
The car sits on adjustable coil-over suspension with push-rod spring struts and carbon ceramic brakes, and the traction control also has three stages of adjustability. From start-up, the system is switched on completely, but a ‘Sport Handling Mode’ raises the threshold before computer assistance steps in. For those brave (or talented) enough, the system can also be deactivated completely.
Is the Mercedes-AMG One a bargain Formula 1 car for the road at £2.4 million? Tell us what you think below…
Keyword: Mercedes-AMG One to debut 1 June