Mercedes-AMG One supercar takes its F1 powertrain to the track
Formerly known as "Project One," the Formula One-derived powertrain is in its final state and ready for full-blown track testing.
It's no easy task to turn an engine meant for the top echelon of motorsport into one suitable for a road car. But that's what Mercedes-AMG set out to do with the One. Now, the final iteration of the powertrain is ready to hit the track for high-speed testing.
Mercedes-AMG announced Tuesday that the One has entered the crucial testing phase after some lengthy delays. With the final engineering work completed, the highest ranking Project One managers gave the green light to test the car with full power: 1,000 horsepower, to be exact. And not just one test car either, but several. It's clear the One has made significant progress since we last saw the supercar testing in 2018.
For those outside of Formula One circles, sitting in the middle of the supercar is a turbocharged 1.6-liter V6 engine paired with four electric motors. It's the exact unit powering the firm's F1 cars every weekend during the season, and Mercedes has utterly dominated in recent years. It also helps it has Lewis Hamilton to wheel the car to victory, but there's no denying the German team has its power unit completely sorted out.
And what's wild is the noise translates from the F1 car to the One street car. The video provides a few snippets of audio from the supercar as it flies around the track and it's mesmerizing to hear the sound on something other than a Grand Prix circuit. Mercedes-AMG underscored it's been a hell of an undertaking; aside from running at maximum performance, the One must also operate in a totally electric mode. When the car is blasting around, F1 cars aren't the quietest machines on the planet, so careful consideration went into engineering something that could actually meet production standards.
All the while, the high-performance testing lets engineers work on the intricate active aerodynamics system as well. With so much at work, the firm wants to ensure the One delivers on its handling promises.
After testing wraps up at AMG's own proving grounds, the team plans to take the supercar to the 'Ring; the Nürburgring, that is. Deliveries of the One are expected to start in 2021 and each one costs $2.72 million. Not that it matters, as all 275 cars have been spoken for by now.
