Published
on 5
Mar 2025
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All rights reserved.
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Seriously
delayed AMG hypercar fails to meet expectation.
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After a delay of 3 years,
AMG One hypercar finally entered production in late 2022. When the
working prototype was unveiled to the world in September 2017, Mercedes
said it would take a further 18 months for development. That means it
should have entered production by mid-2019. Unfortunately, the concept
of adapting Formula 1 powertrain to road use turned out to be far more
problematic than first thought. AMG's engineers struggled to make it
comply with emission standards, not least because an F1 engine idles at
5000 rpm. The technical difficulties were overcome eventually, though
it comes with some side effects...
The first is the poor timing of launch. When Mercedes F1 team was
losing in championship after a domination of 8 years, there could not
be a worse time to launch a hypercar that is said to be transferring
its F1 technology into road use. Anticlimax, in fact. Moreover, just
when Mercedes had announced to stop making combustion engines by 2030
and turn all its attention to electric future, what is the promotional
value of this car?
But worse still is the production car fails to deliver what it
promised. Although top speed inched up from 350 to 352 km/h (219 mph),
knocking off SLR Stirling Moss as the fastest ever Mercedes, its
0-200km/h (124mph) sprint time was quietly lengthened from 6.0 to 7.0
seconds. That's a night and day difference, considering 6 seconds is in
the same ballpark of Bugatti Chiron SS or just about any Koenigseggs,
while 7 seconds struggles to keep up with the last generation of
hypercars like McLaren P1 and LaFerrari, not even a standard production
Ferrari SF90 which costs only a fraction of the AMG's €2.3 million
pre-tax price.
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0-124
mph in 7 seconds struggles to keep up with last generation hypercars,
let alone today's.
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Remember the car was first rumored to come with a kerb weight of under
1000kg? It turned out to be 1695 kg DIN, hundreds of kilos more than
other hypercars around with the exception of Bugatti or electric ones.
That makes its all-carbon-fiber construction and engine-stressed-member
design ridiculous.
Part of the cause is the additional emission cleaning equipment, which
consists of no fewer than 4 pre-heat metal converters, 2 ceramic
converters and 2 particulate filters. Without them, it would not have
complied with EU6 emission standard. This means, the advantage of using
a race-derived 1.6-liter V6 turbo engine is completely wiped out by the
additional emission equipment, even though the exhaust silencer is made
of titanium.
Another reason is the rather complicated electrical propulsion system.
It has as many as 4 electric motors, one in the turbocharger, one
behind the engine that drives the rear axle and 2 more at the front
axle. Plus, the battery is quite large at 8.4kWh, 4 times the capacity
of Mercedes F1 car, although not that much larger than those of Ferrari
SF90 (7.9kWh) or Porsche 918 Spyder (6.8kWh). The motors and electrical
system weigh 320kg while the battery adds another 100kg.
Failing to keep weight under control, no wonder the initial claims of
25km zero-emission range has been cut to 18.1km (11 miles), which is
next to useless.
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Half
of its power comes from electric, which means instant response, but
what if battery runs out?
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Body
Otherwise, the production car is almost unchanged from the prototype,
most notably its exterior. Shaped by aerodynamics and cooling needs
like an endurance race car, it is long, low and wide but the cockpit
section is narrow to reduce frontal area. The waistline is heavily
sculpted fore and aft of the butterfly doors. The front fenders have
movable ventilation louvres which open to release pressure built inside
the wheel wells or close to reduce drag. Sandwiching the F1-style
single exhaust is a pair of large diffusers. Above the tail is a
retractable spoiler which extends upwards and tilts to generate massive
downforce. Like a Le Mans race car as well, the fastback features a
vertical fin and there are no rear windows, as the back is occupied by
vents and NACA ducts, so it needs a rear-view camera. Mercedes provides
no drag or downforce figures, but it should be good for serious track
attack.
Chassis
As expected, the AMG One is constructed around a carbon-fiber monocoque
at which the powertrain is attached, and the latter is a stressed
member for mounting the rear suspension. All suspensions have 5 links,
and they employ pushrod-operating coil-over dampers and are
interconnected between left and right suspension. The dampers are
adaptive, while ride height is adjustable by hydraulic depending on
driving mode or speed.
The car rides on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R rubbers with bespoke
compounds, sized 285/35ZR19 up front and 335/30ZR20 at the rear. The
light forged alloy wheels - magnesium in option - are covered with
carbon-fiber semi-aero seals. The ceramic brakes have 398mm discs and
6-pot calipers up front, 380mm discs and 4-pot calipers at the rear.
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F1-derived
1.6-liter V6 makes a record-breaking 359 hp per liter.
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Powertrain
The 1.6-liter V6 is built by Mercedes' F1 engine department in
Brixworth, England, originally founded by Ilmor Engineering, so it
won't feature the signature of an AMG technician. It shares many
features with Mercedes F1 engines, including a 90-degree block in which
a single exhaust gas turbo sits, an oversquared combusion chamber size
of 80mm bore and 53mm stroke as well as pneumatic valve springs. No
wonder it can rev to 11000 rpm. Strengthened cooling and lubrication
give it a longevity worthy of a road-going engine, although it does
need to be rebuilt every 50,000km.
Like the current F1 engines as well, its big single-turbo has its
compressor turbine and exhaust turbine separated by a long shaft so
that one located at one end of the engine and another located at the
other end. This avoids the heat transmitting from the exhaust side to
the cold air side, ensuring better volumetric efficiency. The big turbo
is assisted by an electric motor, or MGU-H (Motor Generator Unit-Heat)
in F1 language, so that it can bring up to full speed in a fraction of
a second to cut turbo lag. When back off, the motor works as a
generator to reduce turbine speed to match the engine rev, recapturing
the exhaust heat energy that would be otherwise lost through wastegate.
Another electric motor, or MGU-K (K for Kinetic), is mounted right
behind the engine and works just like conventional hybrid, providing an
additional 163hp to the rear axle through a step-down gear. Engine
power transmits to the rear axle via an Xtrac 7-speed single-clutch
automated manual gearbox, chosen for lightness and speed instead of
refinement.
There are 2 more electric motors at the front axle to provide extra
push, giving all-wheel drive and torque vectoring functionality by the
way. Each of the 3 propulsion motors produces 163hp and revs to 50,000
rpm like F1 motors, so they can work up to the car's top speed as long
as battery level allows.
Performance
At maximum boost pressure of 3.5 bar, the V6 engine produces 574
horsepower at 9000 rpm. That sounds a bit underwhelming for a hypercar
engine, but you can't help amazed by its specific output of 359
horsepower per liter, which is by far the highest in road cars. For
comparison, the M139 four-cylinder turbo on A45 S managed just 211
hp/liter.
As the electric motors can work at any speed, the maximum combined
output is simply the summation of engine and motor power, i.e., 1063
horsepower, while torque is too complicated to reveal, claimed AMG.
Performance claims is 0-62 mph in 2.9 seconds, 124 mph in 7.0 seconds
and 186 mph in 15.6 seconds. Considering German figures might be
slightly conservative, that kind of performance is about comparable to
Ferrari SF90. However, it is definitely no match for exclusive
hypercars that it is expected to rival, such as Aston Martin Valkyrie,
Koenigsegg Jesko, Rimac Nevera and Lotus Evija, all of which have
significantly higher power to weight ratio.
The AMG One did set a new Nurburgring road car record. It lapped the
20.8km course in 6:29, 13.5 seconds quicker than the last generation
AMG GT Black series. However, this was achieved with some careful
planning and simulation beforehand, because the car does not have
sufficient battery power to lap the course in full push. Strategic
coasting has to be applied at the right places to allow the battery to
be recharged.
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Your
legs are raised because battery is stored underneath them.
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Cockpit
As the battery pack is located in the floorpan under the legs of driver
and passenger, seating comfort is compromised. The seats are integral
with the monocoque's floor, but the backrests, steering wheel and
pedals are adjustable. It offers a pair of 10-inch LCD screens, one
acting as instrument. The F1-style steering wheel is square and
incorporates many video game-like controls, as well as an LED rev
indicator at its upper rim to help you judging shift time. Air-con,
power windows and infotainment system are standard, but the environment
looks spartan and race-car-like, certainly not the most luxurious
Mercedes.
The good news is...
All 275 cars were already sold back in 2019 and the last one delivered
by the end of 2023, so AMG needs not to worry the about facing its
faster and newer rivals. Few journalists had been invited to test the
car, and none of them could drive outside the race track. Its chief
engineer must be relieved.
On Track
As in many hybrid supercars, the AMG One starts with electric power and
front-wheel drive, but it won’t take long to fire the turbocharged V6.
Its noise is quite industrial, very very loud but low-pitch like
nowadays’ F1 engines, having none of the romance of a proper supercar
engine. Naturally, with as much as half of the power coming from
battery – throttle response is instant. You don’t feel turbo lag. The
single-clutch gearbox is not as slick as the DCTs in its rivals, but
far smoother than those on Lamborghini Aventador or Pagani Utopia as
the electric power helps filling the torque gap during each gearshift.
As a result, the acceleration is relentless, and the engine revs
quickly beyond 9000 rpm, when it sounds frantic. The thinly insulated
carbon-fiber passenger cell doesn’t help refinement either.
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Setting
lap record requires strategic planning of coasting and recharge
battery...
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Ultimately, the One
is not as quick as a hypercar should, because it will run out of
battery power easily after a couple of laps pushing, then suddenly slow
and calm down, shifted itself automatically into recharging mode. It
feels strange and disappointing. Its hybrid rivals from Ferrari,
McLaren or Lamborghini won’t let you down like this because their
combustion engines offer 800 hp or so, while electric motors just play
supporting roles. In contrast, the AMG One has half of its power relied
on that 8.4kWh battery. That handicaps its performance once the battery
is depleted.
Perhaps building a road-going F1 car is not a great idea these days, as
the hybrid generation of F1 cars are designed to the very specific F1
rules that has DRS zones for overtaking. For a road car driving on
track days, you just want to push push and push whenever track
conditions allow.
As for ride and handling, it is difficult to judge from a flat race
track, but with adjustable suspension and ride height, the One could be
turned from soft to rock-hard. The Nurburgring lap time proves that it
has top-notch roadholding and balance. The electric torque-vectoring
front axle guarantees sharp turn-in and agility, so good that AMG could
skip rear-wheel steering. However, Chris Harris of Top Gear did report
strong understeer into corner and strange brake pedal feel. It seems
more down to lack of development.
Being used as a road car, the One is not that great. Not only the cabin
is cramped and the leg-raised sitting position is uncomfortable, but
the environment is very noisy, drowned in exhaust noise and turbo
whoosh in particular. There is no rear window, no storage space behind
the seats and no luggage compartment at all. Very much like its
predecessor CLK-GTR, it is a collector’s car but not so much a
masterpiece of art and engineering.
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Verdict:  |
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