Revealed four years ago by Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton and former Daimler AG head honcho Dieter Zetsche, the ONE isn’t ready for production. Adding insult to injury, the German automaker from Stuttgart charged $2.72 million apiece for a sold-out production run of 275 units.
The AMG division keeps teasing the Formula 1-engined hypercar like there’s no tomorrow, but the ONE has a few unsorted issues as it happens. The near-production car in the photo gallery broke down at the Nürburgring before hitting the circuit, two kilometers away from Mercedes’ test center.
Given the fine-tuning equipment and the sheer number of wires on the center console's passenger side, Mercedes-AMG still hasn’t found the right engine mapping either. The interior picture further reveals a test driver sitting behind a steering wheel devoid of the airbag cover, trying to start up the 1.6-liter V6 while talking on the phone with (presumably) an engineer.
The biggest hurdle in terms of research and development is the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure. Setting up a Formula 1-derived hybrid power unit in accordance with the EU-6 emission regulation is hard, and the same can be said about idling. After all, a six-cylinder lump that redlines at 11,000 rpm doesn’t like to spin at low revs.
Based on the hybrid power unit of the W07 Formula 1 car from the 2016 season, the 1.6-liter engine is complemented by four electric motors. One of them is the crankshaft-coupled kinetic unit, one of them is the turbocharger-coupled heat unit, and a couple of electric motors drive the front axle. An eight-speed automated manual transmission rounds off the powertrain instead of a dual-clutch transmission in order to save a few kilograms.
Typical of a racing car for the road, the 2022 Mercedes-AMG ONE also features performance-oriented rubber. The center-locked wheels and carbon-ceramic braking system are joined by sticky Michelins that measure 285/35 by 19 inches up front and 335/30 by 20 inches for the rear.
Given the fine-tuning equipment and the sheer number of wires on the center console's passenger side, Mercedes-AMG still hasn’t found the right engine mapping either. The interior picture further reveals a test driver sitting behind a steering wheel devoid of the airbag cover, trying to start up the 1.6-liter V6 while talking on the phone with (presumably) an engineer.
The biggest hurdle in terms of research and development is the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure. Setting up a Formula 1-derived hybrid power unit in accordance with the EU-6 emission regulation is hard, and the same can be said about idling. After all, a six-cylinder lump that redlines at 11,000 rpm doesn’t like to spin at low revs.
Based on the hybrid power unit of the W07 Formula 1 car from the 2016 season, the 1.6-liter engine is complemented by four electric motors. One of them is the crankshaft-coupled kinetic unit, one of them is the turbocharger-coupled heat unit, and a couple of electric motors drive the front axle. An eight-speed automated manual transmission rounds off the powertrain instead of a dual-clutch transmission in order to save a few kilograms.
Typical of a racing car for the road, the 2022 Mercedes-AMG ONE also features performance-oriented rubber. The center-locked wheels and carbon-ceramic braking system are joined by sticky Michelins that measure 285/35 by 19 inches up front and 335/30 by 20 inches for the rear.