Five years after the Mercedes-AMG Project One concept broke cover at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show, a full production example of the car, now simply called Mercedes-AMG One, has snatched Nurburgring lap record bragging rights, with a blistering lap of the famous German circuit.
An official time of 6:35.183 minutes makes it the fastest road-legal production vehicle to lap the challenging, close to 21km, track, with Mercedes factory driver Maro Engel’s effort also topping the time sheets for the ‘Super Sports Car’ category.
Using powertrain technology drawn directly from the brand’s Formula 1 racing program, the One uses a 1.6-litre V6 hybrid petrol engine with a single electrically assisted turbocharger and four electric motors to produce no less than 782kW (1063hp).
With a quoted (electronically limited!) maximum velocity of 352 km/h, the One features a carbon-fibre body wrapped around a carbon monocoque with the engine/transmission incorporated as a fully-stressed member, in true race car fashion.
Production kicked off in August this year, and just 275 units will be produced, with engineering and assembly spread across three AMG sites - the main assembly plant in Affalterbach, Germany, as well as the High-Performance Powertrains Centre in Brixworth, UK, and the F1 team’s HQ in Brackley, north-west of London.
And Mercedes-Benz Australia has confirmed eight examples (just under three per cent of global production) will be delivered to Australian customers, with a landed price of around $5 million each.
But the catch is all cars will be left-hand drive and won’t be compliant with Australian design rules. So, they won’t be able to be registered for road use, meaning they’re either pure four-wheeled financial investments, pricey art installations, or track-only playthings.
Given one very successful Victorian truckie’s penchant for vehicles bearing the three-pointed star, it’s likely one of them at least will be found circulating on the flowing Phillip Island Grand Prix layout.
Transport magnate, high-profile car collector, and Phillip Island circuit owner, Lindsay Fox already has several significant Benzes in his portfolio, and is rumoured to be a Mercedes-AMG One owner in prospect.
Using active aero, an F1-style push-rod suspended chassis, and all-wheel drive courtesy of a hybrid-driven rear axle and electrically driven front axle (with torque vectoring), the two-seat AMG One is in a high-powered arm wrestle for global hypercar supremacy, with its main opponent being the exotic, ultra-lightweight Aston Martin Valkyrie.
With development led by Red Bull F1’s hugely successful design director, Adrian Newey, the mid-engined, rear-wheel drive Valkyrie is powered by a high-revving 6.5-litre Aston Martin Cosworth V12 and a single electric motor for a combined output of 865kW (1160hp), and tips the scales at just 1030kg (compared to the AMG One’s relatively hefty 1695kg).
With a power-to-weight ratio of 840kW per tonne, it out-muscles the AMG which ‘only’ rates 461kW per tonne.
Two versions of the Valkyrie are being produced, a road car limited to 150 units (A$4.5 million), and just 25 examples of the AMR Pro edition (A$5.3 million).
Both versions are sold out, and despite initial intentions to offer ADR-compliant examples to Australian Aston Martin customers, it too is non-compliant in this country.
