Photo: Mercedes-AMG
Mercedes-AMG is planning a hypercar that is currently referred to as the R50, which is chosen as a symbol for the company's five decades of existence.
Brand officials have already confirmed the said hypercar as being the closest thing you will be able to drive on the street when compared to a Formula 1 single-seater.
Instead of having an open cockpit, a central driving position, and a single seat, the car will come with an F1-inspired hybrid drivetrain that will be squeezed for maximum performance, and its engine will come from the Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 car.
In an interview with the Brits at Top Gear, Mr. Tobias Moers has explained that few modifications will be made to that engine to make it suitable for driving the car on the street. The changes include reducing the idle speed from 3,000 rpm to a normal value, and the compression ratio will also be tapered.
That said, the unit will be able to reach over 10,000 rpm, and reliability is said to be “not as bad as everyone makes out,” as Moers explained when referring to an F1-derived engine.
Mercedes-AMG is expected to build about 300 units of the R50, but do not rule out a lower figure. In spite of the previous speculation on the matter, it appears that Mercedes-AMG does not plan to make a track version of its hypercar. Instead, the German division of the Daimler corporation will make its hypercar so fast in street trim that a track-dedicated version will not be necessary.
The boss of AMG has told journalists that the car will have the most efficient combustion engine on the planet, and it will be sent to the Nurburgring and attempt to set a record.
Evidently, Mr. Moers skillfully declined to go too far into detail with the entire Green Hell thing, but he told reporters that the “current lap record was set on slicks,” and he said that the R50’s time would "depend on the tires."
The conclusion of that discussion was that everyone had to wait until next year, until "everything is sorted out." The fastest car on the Nurburgring on street tires is the Porsche 918 Spyder (6:57), but the Radical SR8 LM prides itself with a time of 6:48 with semi-slick tires. The latter is a street-legal car only in some countries, which does not make it comparable to the Porsche 918 Spyder.
The quickest ever Nurburgring lap in a car was set by Stefan Bellof in May 1983, during the qualifying session for the "1000k Sports Car Race," when he drove the 20.8 km track in six minutes and 11 seconds. The time was produced on racing slicks with a Porsche 956 race car.
It is unclear whether Mr. Moers is referring to the Porsche 956 time from 1983, the Porsche 918 Spyder’s time, or the Pagani Zonda R’ time. In the case of the latter, the Italian hypercar is not exactly a production vehicle on street tires, but it did run a 6:47 at the Nurburgring in 2010.
Instead of having an open cockpit, a central driving position, and a single seat, the car will come with an F1-inspired hybrid drivetrain that will be squeezed for maximum performance, and its engine will come from the Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 car.
In an interview with the Brits at Top Gear, Mr. Tobias Moers has explained that few modifications will be made to that engine to make it suitable for driving the car on the street. The changes include reducing the idle speed from 3,000 rpm to a normal value, and the compression ratio will also be tapered.
That said, the unit will be able to reach over 10,000 rpm, and reliability is said to be “not as bad as everyone makes out,” as Moers explained when referring to an F1-derived engine.
Mercedes-AMG is expected to build about 300 units of the R50, but do not rule out a lower figure. In spite of the previous speculation on the matter, it appears that Mercedes-AMG does not plan to make a track version of its hypercar. Instead, the German division of the Daimler corporation will make its hypercar so fast in street trim that a track-dedicated version will not be necessary.
The boss of AMG has told journalists that the car will have the most efficient combustion engine on the planet, and it will be sent to the Nurburgring and attempt to set a record.
Evidently, Mr. Moers skillfully declined to go too far into detail with the entire Green Hell thing, but he told reporters that the “current lap record was set on slicks,” and he said that the R50’s time would "depend on the tires."
The conclusion of that discussion was that everyone had to wait until next year, until "everything is sorted out." The fastest car on the Nurburgring on street tires is the Porsche 918 Spyder (6:57), but the Radical SR8 LM prides itself with a time of 6:48 with semi-slick tires. The latter is a street-legal car only in some countries, which does not make it comparable to the Porsche 918 Spyder.
The quickest ever Nurburgring lap in a car was set by Stefan Bellof in May 1983, during the qualifying session for the "1000k Sports Car Race," when he drove the 20.8 km track in six minutes and 11 seconds. The time was produced on racing slicks with a Porsche 956 race car.
It is unclear whether Mr. Moers is referring to the Porsche 956 time from 1983, the Porsche 918 Spyder’s time, or the Pagani Zonda R’ time. In the case of the latter, the Italian hypercar is not exactly a production vehicle on street tires, but it did run a 6:47 at the Nurburgring in 2010.
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