Merc’s new F1-powered road car
AFTER only a handful of sketchy details late last year, Mercedes-AMG has revealed some more juicy info on its upcoming hypercar and confirmed it will use the same (or very similar) hybrid drivetrain as the team’s championship-winning 2015 Formula One car.
The Project One is still around three years away, and will likely get a new name closer to its launch date in 2020, but for now we know that it’ll be powered by a mid-mounted turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 linked to a set of floor-mounted batteries which drive four separate electric motors. One of these directly supplements the engine’s crankshaft output, another is used only to continuously spool the turbocharger, and the remaining pair drive the two front wheels independently.
Total system output is unconfirmed, but Merc’s website says it expects “more than 735kW”. Performance claims are also yet to be made, but with this much power, all-wheel drive traction and a carbonfibre body/chassis structure, we’re sure it’s worthy of challenging Aston Martin and Red Bull’s similarly F1-inspired Valkyrie hypercar which is due next year.
Though the fully road-legal Project One will undoubtedly be started from the driver’s seat without help from a pit crew (as per F1 standards), Mercedes-AMG’s boss has disclosed that engine rebuilds will be required every 50 000km. Perfectly understandable for a such a highly strung motor that idles at 4000rpm and redlines at 13 500!
For now we’ll have to make do with pictures of the Project One’s body-less chassis configuration and a typically shadowy teaser image, but a full reveal is expected at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
Interested? Tough. All 275 units have been sold sight unseen.