Manny Khoshbin wanted one from the moment he laid his eyes on it, back in 2017. Seven years later, he still did not receive it even though he paid the deposit a long time ago. When will he get his hands on the first-ever road-legal Mercedes-AMG hypercar, the One?
Mercedes unveiled the Project One concept car at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2017 and immediately started accepting reservations, even if the production version was lightyears away. The AMG division finally showed the production version in 2021. But the car was still far from actually going into production.
"We must have been drunk when we greenlighted the One," the carmaker's CEO Ola Kallenius said back then. The engineers had quite a headache with the 1.6-liter turbo V6 engine carried over from the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 racing cars together with the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). The engine designed for the track idled too high, at around 5,000 rpm, potentially causing the unit to overheat and eventually burst into flames.
Mercedes eventually managed to find the right setting to avoid sending a $2.75 million car to the scrap yard and started delivering the model. Only 275 customers will get their hands on the first-ever Mercedes-AMG hypercar, with 55 of them being from the US. And Manny Khoshbin is one of them. He doesn't seem angry about the delay and understands it must be a hypercar thing: they never go into production on time.
However, the real estate mogul received bad news last year. The car can only be imported into the United States under a “Show and Display” regulation, which exempts it from the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, but imposes several restrictions. The owner can't drive more than 2,500 miles per year.
However, he still can't wait to see it with his own eyes, which is not going to happen any time soon. Manny has recently received a phone call from Mercedes-AMG. He got the news that he will be requested to spec his One hypercar in a few days. Mercedes has produced 80 cars so far out of the 275 scheduled for production. Manny will get VIN number 262, which sends him toward the end of the production run. This means he will not receive his ONE before the end of 2025. But at least, he's getting it specced.
With just days before having to choose colors and trims, he still doesn't know if he should go for silver or black. At least, speccing the cabin is pretty easy, because there will be carbon fiber, alcantara, and leather, with not many color options as part of the Formula 1 Package, available for 85,000 euros, which translates to over $92,000.
It also brings ceramic wheels and the star livery. It’s 5,000 euros ($5,427) if you want a six-point harness instead of the regular safety belt. And if you intend to hit the track in this car, you’d better check that option box.
Manny is still thinking if he should pay 25,000 euros ($27,136) for the car cover, though. "I might just throw a blanket on it," he jokes. Blanket or not, the Mercedes-AMG One is one expensive hypercar that customers have been waiting for seven years to receive.
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