Mercedes-AMG Project ONE: Could it Run the ‘Ring in Under Six Minutes?
A sub-six-minute Nürburgring time is possible, but is it even probable at this point for a production hypercar?
Details about the Mercedes-AMG Project ONE are slowly starting to take shape. As a result, the online rumor mill is spinning fast enough to power a small country, so it’s about time we weighed in.
The big news, the proverbial elephant in the room, is the rumored Nürburgring time, said to be below six minutes. Even if it squeaks in at 5:59, that’s a whopping twelve seconds faster than the fastest lap of all time.
That lap — a blazing-fast 6:11.13 — was completed by a Porsche 956 race car with Stefan Bellof behind the wheel. The video is absolute perfection, displaying Bellof’s complete and total mastery of the legendary Green Hell.
Bettering that lap in any car, even the most impressive hypercar ever made, would be nearly impossible, requiring a perfect set of circumstances and a flawless run. We’re not saying it’s impossible … we’re just saying it’s a tall order.
ALSO SEE: What the Forum Has to Say About These Crazy Rumors
Nobody has seen the Project ONE testing at the Nürburgring yet, so the sub-six-minute rumors are all based on conjecture. It’s not baseless conjecture, however.
The projected numbers of the Project ONE paint an impressive picture. More than 1,000 horsepower from a Formula One-based V6 with an 11,000-rpm redline. Electrically assisted all-wheel-drive, active aerodynamics, Formula One-style inboard suspension, and a weight around 2,200 pounds. AMG boss Tobias Moers has also stated that the Project ONE will lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife “minutes faster” than an AMG A45, a car that for reference, runs the ‘ring “closely under 8:00,” according to Moers.
Basically, Mercedes-Benz plans on selling a Formula One car for the street. If anything is going to beat the Nürburgring record, our money is on this thing.
At the very least, we expect it to break the seven-minute barrier easily, and best the Lamborghini Huracan Performante’s production car record of 6:52:01. We even expect it to break the street-legal car record held by the Radical SR8 LM at 6:48.
But running under six minutes? We’ll have to wait and see.
Watch for our complete coverage of the Project ONE debut on September 12th, 2017.
