The greatly anticipated Mercedes-AMG Project One hypercar has finally been revealed in Frankfurt. The car promises to bring Formula 1 power to the road.
BMW should be concerned, Mercedes-AMG claims the Project ONE will be an “ultimate driving machine that directly brings current Formula 1 hybrid technology onto the road and combines top-class race track performance with full day-to-day suitability.”
These days, dinosaur juice is on the endangered list when it comes to the latest generation of hypercars. Like the Ferrari La Ferrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche 918, the Project One will deploy high-performance hybrid technology.
Analysing all the figures associated with the Project One is a mathematician's wet dream, it’s a numbers fest.
In the Project One, the power train brings the 1.6-litre V6 petrol engine with direct injection and electrically assisted single turbocharging that comes directly from the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 racing car. Extra power comes from four electric motors.
In total, Mercedes-AMG claims the hybrid powertrain develops ‘over’ 740kW or 1000 horsepower, ‘more than’ 500kW comes from the petrol engine, while the electric motors produce 120kW.
Remarkably, the Project One’s plug-in hybrid system has an all-electric range of up to 25 kilometres.
In a strange move, AMG hasn’t announced torque figures or how quickly the car accelerates from 0-100km/h. AMG has revealed the Project One can reach top speeds beyond 350 km/h and sprint to 0-200km/h in less than 6.0 seconds, making it quicker to 200km/h than the Ferrari La Ferrari and McLaren P1.
Power is put down via a variable AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive system with hybrid-drive rear axle, electrically driven front axle and torque vectoring and an automated AMG SPEEDSHIFT 8-speed manual transmission.
The 8-speed manual transmission has been entirely developed from scratch for the Mercedes-AMG Project ONE. It is activated hydraulically and has a fully automatic mode, alternatively, manual changes are possible by using the shift paddles.
The styling of the Project One is obviously a matter of taste, however, there’s no doubt it’s fit for purpose. It looks like a hypercar should.
There are 19-inch forged alloy wheels up front and 20s on the rear. The wheels will be wrapped in 285/35 ZR19 and 335/30 ZR20 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber.
A high-performance carbon ceramic compound brake system will bring the Project One to a halt.
Inside the cabin, it’s very minimalistic, most of the functions and information will be found on the two 10-inch high-resolution displays or the Formula 1 inspired steering wheel.
Both the pedals and steering wheel are adjustable to get the perfect driving position.
There’s plenty of quality materials, Nappa leather, Alcantara and carbon fibre are all found in the cockpit.
The Mercedes-AMG Project One is also a celebration of 50 years of AMG.
Only 275 examples of the Project One will be manufactured, of which only eight have been allocated to Australia and New Zealand. Mercedes-Benz claims to already be holding orders from Australians wanting to own the hypercar.
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