The Valkyrie from Aston Martin may have double the cylinders and a higher redline, but Mercedes-AMG has the upper hand with the ONE because it’s a Formula 1 car for the road. The turbocharged V6 underhood comes straight from Brixworth, the home of Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains.
Presented two years ago at the Geneva Motor Show, what used to be known as Project ONE borrows the power unit, MGU-H, and MGU-K from the W07 single-seater racing car. Electrical assistance for the front axle further translates to all-wheel drive, and the combined output will surely go beyond 1,000 ponies.
Only 275 will ever be made, and each needs an engine rebuild every 50,000 kilometers (31,070 miles) because F1 technology sacrifices long-term reliability for top-notch performance. Starting price? Make that $2.7 million, thank you!
After joining the concept on stage in Geneva, six-time champ Lewis Hamilton is much obliged to meet the ONE again. This time around, the Brit got behind the wheel of a development car with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires (285/35 ZR by 19 inches up front), a crazy suspension setup that wouldn’t look out of place in a racecar, four exhaust tips, a roof snorkel, and no fewer than two radiators up front.
Mercedes says this is the first time Lewis and the ONE meet on the track, and #LH44 certainly likes the car. “It’s like a bullet, (…) the sound is pretty much the same as it is in the racecar,” said the most dominant Formula 1 driver on the grid, the champion of the 2019 season and worst nightmare of the Ferrari boys.
Developed in Affalterbach at the AMG headquarters, the ONE will be completed at Brackley where the Formula 1 team is based. The promo clip uploaded to YouTube further confirms that EV Mode is on the table, and chances are the electric range of the plug-in hybrid hypercar won’t surpass the 25-km mark (up to 16 miles).
The delivery date of the ONE has been pushed back a couple of times, and as it happens, expecting customers need to look forward to 2021 for the first cars to roll off the assembly line. Coincidence or not, 2021 is also the first year for a very different Formula 1. The hybrid power unit will remain pretty much unchanged, which means that the engine of the all-new ONE won’t feel outdated by then.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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