It’s been 50 illustrious years of Aufrecht, Melcher, Großaspach, and their teams and expertise continuing to do what they do best: deliver among the finest high-performance automobiles. With their current line-up pushing the boundaries, they are just as busy presenting the future as they are ‘future-ing’ the present.
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Daimler, DPPI
Mercedes-AMG got the world’s attention when they launched their first indigenous car, the SLS AMG, which went on to thrill drivers. Its replacement, the AMG GT, was the next step. Speaking volumes even standing still. In our previous feature, we looked at the Mercedes-AMG GT line in detail, from their road car to their race cars.
Blending together the world of motor sport and a production car programme is no easy task, yet, after a conspicuous absence in the hybrid-hypercar arena, Mercedes-AMG have answered: presenting the ultimate incarnation of the high-performance vehicle, combining the two worlds of Formula 1 racing and their road car programme, the Project One.
Mercedes-AMG ‘Project One’
Bringing F1 technology and engineering to the road is one thing, but making a road-legal F1 car? Now that’s something few have attempted and fewer still have achieved.
With the Project One, Mercedes-AMG are giving their championship-winning F1 car a new lease on life. The 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 petrol engine-based hybrid power-unit, including the motor generator units for heat and kinetic energy (MGU-H and MGU-K), and the electric drive system, all make it to the road car, albeit tuned for much longer life than just five race weekends. With about 750 PS from the combustion engine and about 240 kW (326 PS) from the electric motors driving the front wheels, the peak combined output is a stunning 1,000+ PS with the instant torque from the two electric motors (plus two electric motors, one 90-kW and one 120-kW, on the engine for turbo assist and power supplementation) providing for staggering acceleration times and a top speed exceeding 350 km/h. Unlike the Formula 1 engine which has a rev-limiter set at 15,000 rpm, the Project One’s power-unit red-lines at a lower 11,000 rpm, to take into account engine life and Super Plus fuel.
Furthermore, the engineers have managed to keep the weight of the mid-engined two-seater sports car down to around 1,000 kg. Only 275 will be made, and, we believe, are already spoken for.
