The Mercedes-AMG Project ONE hypercar concept’s design may not wow everyone, but its projected performance figures should.
Mercedes-Benz and AMG have made special and powerful cars before. The SL 65 AMG Black Series was a titan of torque. The GT R isn’t exactly anemic. However, when it comes to the ultimate Mercedes-AMG vehicle, there is only one: Project ONE.
Carfection got an up-close look at it at the 2017 Frankfurt Auto Show. For being the most powerful Mercedes-AMG road car ever, Project ONE has a certain visual restraint to it. It has large front air inlets, butterfly doors, and a prominent tail fin, but those are fitted to a graceful, flowing body which balances out the theatricality of the hardware around it.
Inside, the screen-heavy cockpit is all-business – and that business is going fast. Project ONE’s powertrain is more than capable of helping it do just that. Engineers combined four electric motors with an F1-grade turbocharged 1.6-liter V6 (a la the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 race car) that redlines at a stratospheric 11,000 rpm. That mix of electricity, compressed air, and gasoline results in 1,000 horsepower, and a top speed north of 217 mph. To make the Project ONE more real-world reliable, the redline and compression ratio have been lowered from their full-race specifications.
If it wasn’t obvious by now, Project ONE will be quick. Carfection wanted to know if it will be fun to drive. According to AMG boss Tobias Moers, throttle response will be instant and he and his crew are aiming for the production version of Project ONE to be linear and predictable. Whether or not those qualities will equate to excitement remains to be seen. There’s still a long wait before the production cars go the press and owners.
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Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
