Top Gear Does Deep Dive on Mercedes-AMG One Hypercar
We finally get a closer look at the Mercedes-AMG One and we couldn’t be more excited for the future of AMG racing.
In a world ripe with exciting future products, no upcoming automotive releases have us as excited as the Mercedes-AMG One. But that’s what happens when an automaker promises to bring what is essentially a street-legal Formula 1 car into existence. Packing a promised 1,000+ horsepower, “race car performance,” and a 217 mph top speed, the Mercedes-AMG One is certain to blow our collective minds when it finally rolls off the assembly line. In the meantime, we can look to this walkaround video from Top Gear to quell our thirst.
In typical dramatic TG fashion, our host immediately answers the obvious reason a car like this might exist. “Now, there’s something that directly transfers the experience of an F1 car to the road. And it’s just extraordinary.” Of course, a car this good won’t just land in the hands of anyone. With an asking price of $2.72 million and an already sold out run of just 275 cars, the barrier to ownership is high. But that doesn’t mean we can’t dream – and drool over the Mercedes-AMG One.
The true madness of the One lies under the hood (bonnet?), of course. “Under there is the actual 1.6-liter turbo lifted directly from Lewis’ [Hamilton] 2015 F1 car,” TG notes. “It will spin to an ear-splitting 11,000 rpm, down from the 14,000 it hits in F1. But then, this thing has to idle at 1,200 rpm, not 4,000. And be capable of doing a school run, not just setting lap times.”
Of course, the efficient turbo gas engine is just part of the story. It’s also supplemented by three electric motors spinning to 50,000 rpm and generating an additional 160 HP each. Hilariously enough, you can even do 15 miles on EV power only, effectively turning the Mercedes-AMG One into a front-wheel drive eco machine.
But the most amazing thing about the One is just how close it comes to a full-blown F1 car. “The boss of AMG, who I just had a coffee with, says that around a shorter track, this versus a full-blown F1 car will be a lot closer than we think.” And on that note, we concur with TG’s assessment that this is a race that “we demand to see.”
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