Racing car with five engines
Mercedes-AMG is developing a hypercar with 1000 hp and Formula 1 technology – at a price of 2.3 million euros
The Mercedes AMG-One is designed to bring top performance from the racetrack to the street
© Mercedes-Benz Group AG
With the Mercedes-AMG One, the German car manufacturer wants to put a hypercar with Formula 1 technology on the road. The over 1000 hp car has a combustion engine and four electric motors. And a lot of other technology is also installed.
With the AMG One, Mercedes says it has “for the first time in the world the most modern and efficient Formula 1 hybrid drive technology from the race track [für] the road”. The German car manufacturer obviously wanted to optimize every little detail.
The racing car with Formula 1 technology combines a combustion engine with four electric motors. An approximately 122 hp electric motor is installed on the shaft that connects the exhaust gas and compressor turbines. This drives the shaft of the high-tech turbocharger and ensures 100,000 revolutions per minute on the rear wheel. There are two electric motors on the front axle, each with an output of 163 hp. The AMG One thus has fully variable all-wheel drive with a hybrid-driven rear axle and an electrically-driven front axle. You can choose between six driving programs – including one for purely electric driving and two racing programs, which are only permitted on the race track.
From 0 to 200 km/h in under seven seconds
Thanks to the work of the electric motor, the AMG One has optimized acceleration; a continuously direct response is guaranteed, says Mercedes. With an engine output of up to 1063 hp, six cylinders and an 800-volt system, the hypercar is said to have reached a speed of 100 km/h from a standing start in 2.9 seconds – after a total of seven seconds the speedometer is at 200 km /H. The vehicle then locks itself at a speed of a good 350 km/h.
“With the Mercedes-AMG One, we have more than pushed the limit. The immense technical challenges involved in making a modern Formula 1 powertrain suitable for everyday road use have undoubtedly pushed us to our limits,” says Philipp Schiemer, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes AMG GmbH.
The biggest challenge in actually making the racing car roadworthy was fulfilling thecurrent emission laws, said Marco Lochmahr, project manager for development to “ntv”. “Most of the brain power is actually in the exhaust aftertreatment system.” Lochmahr explains: “In addition to the standard filters, exactly four heating disks are installed here, which preheat the catalytic converters to 500 degrees Celsius within 50 seconds after pressing the start/stop button before the combustion engine starts.” The fuel consumption is therefore 8.7 liters per 100 kilometers.
The sophisticated technology also includes the ability to recuperate. The electric exhaust gas turbocharger uses excess energy from the exhaust gas flow to generate electrical energy. This either flows into the battery or is fed to the electric front axle or the electric machine on the combustion engine. Mercedes states that up to 80 percent of the energy can be recovered. That should definitely be important, because the lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 8.4 kWh is just enough for an electric range of around 18 kilometers.
For the construction of the AMG One, Mercedes uses a chassis and body made of carbon, active aerodynamics and a so-called push-rod chassis. An aluminum housing with a light gear design should also save weight in addition to high stability. The approximately 4.76 meter long and just 1.26 meter high AMG One tips the scales at 1695 kilograms. The racing car has specially developed tires: 19 inches at the front and 20 inches at the rear.
Mercedes-AMG One built like Formula 1 car
The two-seater hypercar is also visually reminiscent of a racing car: the front has large air inlets on the left and right and flat LED headlights. Ventilation slots are installed in the front wheel arches, there is an air intake derived from Formula 1 on the roof and the rear wing can be extended in two parts. The doors open diagonally forwards and upwards.
The driver and front passenger sit on racing seat shells and find two free-standing 10-inch displays in the interior. The most important driver data is projected onto the road above the racing steering wheel, which is flattened at the top and bottom. Instead of the interior mirror, the view is via a screen.
Project One was presented for the first time at the IAA 2017. Mercedes wants to sell 275 copies at a purchase price of 2.275 million euros plus tax. The AMG One will be officially seen in action for the first time at the end of June at the Festival of Speed in Goodwood, UK.