Mercedes AMG One (2022). On board the hypercar with F1 genes!

April 2022. We are on the sidelines of the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 SE Performance tests. A box on the Monteblanco circuit near Seville (Spain) is the subject of particular attention. We can only enter it at the appointed time, without a smartphone, for a tete-a-tete which is not likely to happen again anytime soon: we have an appointment to finally discover, under embargo, the definitive version of the Mercedes-AMG One, the absolute Formula 1-powered hypercar. Awaited for years in the ultra-closed circle of the most exceptional cars that the richest collectors snap up, it is supposed to make everyone agree.

Since its first appearance at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show under the name of Project One, this monster homologated to put its tires on the road has been the subject of a long, very long development process, causing white hair to its designers. “It is the most complicated car in the world. We are at the limit of what is possible” explains bluntly Marco Lochmahr, project manager since 2019. As for the chairman of the management board of Mercedes, Ola Källenius, interviewed by our colleagues fromCoach during the Monaco Grand Prix, he joked that the board must have been drunk when he said yes to the project. Today we get to see the final form of this baby, a race-engineered monster constrained for the road.

Over its appearances more or less camouflaged, year after year, we have become accustomed to its silhouette of pure racing car and its shapes sculpted by aerodynamic efficiency. Yet the shock is strong: we approach the One like a barely domesticated beast, complex and threatening. Mr. Lochmahr has fun switching from road mode to track mode to impress us again, the hydraulic system brutally lowering the car by 37 mm at the front and 30 mm at the rear.

In addition, we observe the deployment of the louvres above the wheel arches, like a Transformer changing… With the forged magnesium rims, whose central nut acts as air extractors, this work makes it possible to multiply by five aerodynamic support. But the One is above all a power unit from another planet, planet F1.

Five Concert Engines

For good reason: 1,063 hp of cumulative power, four figures that illustrate the excess of this unparalleled project. The car employs an integrated and interconnected unit consisting of a 1.6 V6 turbo hybrid and four electric motors. One is integrated into the turbocharger for improved response and higher low-end torque, another is located directly in the internal combustion engine and connected to the crankshaft, and the last two drive the front wheels directly. Added to this is an exhaust gas treatment system with four preheated metal catalysts, two ceramic catalysts and two petrol particulate filters to comply with Euro 6 emission limits.

David Coulthard and Lewis Hamilton participated in the development of this car with the F1 team in Brixworth, Great Britain. A monster capable of going from 0 to 300 km/h in 15.6 s and of exceeding 350 km/h! Six driving modes are on the program, from the most extreme Strat 2 to EV mode for all-electric driving. The One is also a rechargeable hybrid: its battery with rapid energy absorption with a capacity of 8.4 kWh gives it an electric range of 18 km.

Mr. Lochmahr summarizes the difficulty of this technological challenge as follows: “It represents a unique chance to have F1 technology on the road. But there will be no other project like this. » For Jochen Hermann, Technical Director of Mercedes-AMG GmbH, “this project has been both a curse and a blessing. In a Formula 1 car, a team of engineers equipped with laptops is in charge of starting the kinematic chain. In our hypercar, it is enough to press a button. It also illustrates the immense IT know-how hidden in this vehicle”.

Carbon and ceramic-composite

On the chassis and running gear side, the One is just as impressive. Thus, the engine and gearbox assembly is part of the overall structure, in a titanium and steel frame, while the carbon shell ensures flawless rigidity. The active suspension employs a solution with five arms and two adjustable suspension struts at the front and rear, while braking is entrusted to ceramic-composite discs.

Crude but civilized cockpit

No frills in the One’s cabin, priority is given to an uncompromising racing machine design, except for the MBUX infotainment system and air conditioning. The carbon monocoque integrating the seats, the driving position is adjusted using the steering wheel and the pedals, as well as the inclination of the backrest. We note in passing the presence of proximity radars for maneuvers. Enough to preserve the bodywork with hand-painted details, such as the stars or the front logo identical to that of the brand’s F1s. It takes no less than sixteen steps for them to take shape. Individual painting is of course possible for this model, sold for 2.275 million euros excluding VAT, to be picked up personally in Affalterbach, AMG’s headquarters. The 275 scheduled copies were all sold in a secret customer recruitment process.

The first happy owners, including some renowned drivers, will see their jewel delivered in the second half of the year. In the meantime, the Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​in June will be the site of the first public and moving appearance of the One. What to take the measure of its potential to the sound of very high frequencies approaching the maximum speed of 11,000 rpm, amplified by the titanium silencer, a sound promised by Mr. Lochmahr as close to that of the F1. We bet that the spectators present will appreciate.

Conclusion: an impressive hypercar!

How can you imagine driving such a Meccano with unprecedented technical complexity? Because such an achievement is a call to the pleasure of piloting and not a simple collector’s item to put in your living room. We can imagine it as exciting as it is impressive, with an almost limitless operating potential, lightning performance and many more superlatives to describe it. A project to mark a milestone in the history of the automobile, which brings the track closer to the road than perhaps ever before, even as mechanical complexity reaches its peak.

Mercedes-AMG One (2022) data sheet