Production Mercedes-AMG One guns for hypercar glory

Revealed in production form five years after the original concept, the Formula One-inspired plug-in-hybrid coupe is AMG’s most powerful road car yet.

Mercedes-AMG has revealed the production version of its headlining 2022 Mercedes-AMG One hypercar, ahead of a start to customer deliveries for the spectacular Formula One-inspired hybrid-powered two-seater by the end of the year.

Initially previewed in concept form at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show, the hardcore coupe is the most powerful Mercedes-AMG road car to date, mating a modified 422kW version of the company’s turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 race engine with four electric motors developing a combined 450kW, for a total system output of 782kW.

With a top speed limited to 352km/h, the One is also the Mercedes-Benz performance car division’s fastest ever production model – eclipsing the official 344km/h of the 24-year-old CLK GTR coupe built by AMG between 1998 and 1999.

The new left-hand-drive-only hypercar is the result of a close collaboration between Mercedes-AMG’s regular road car operations based in Affalterbach, Germany, as well as the company’s High Performance Powertrain division in Brixworth, England and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team in Brackley, England.

How the lack of right-hand drive affects Australian deliveries remains to be seen, as eight examples were previously confirmed for buyers Down Under. The One may not be road-legal locally, similar to the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 track car offered in 2019.

To be produced in a run of no more than 275 – all of which are already accounted for at a price of $2.75 million – the four-wheel drive One has encountered a troubled gestation, with emission compliance of its hi-tech drivetrain and race-grade active aerodynamics at the root of the delays in its introduction, which was originally planned for 2019.

The basis of the advanced Aston Martin Valkyrie and Ferrari SF90 Stradale rival is a carbon-fibre monocoque with an integrated steel roll bar.

It supports a large rear sub-frame structure for the petrol-electric drivetrain and rear chassis in a grid tube frame design made out of carbon fibre and titanium.

The definitive production version of the One, revealed here for the first time without the disguise applied to earlier prototypes, holds true to the appearance of the original Project ONE concept.

However, every aspect of its exterior design has been updated in a bid to attain the lofty performance targets regularly hinted to by Mercedes-AMG over its five-year development.

The body, a combination of carbon fibre and composite plastic, has been developed for maximum downforce with active elements within the cooling ducts at the front end and louvres on top of the front wheelhouses.

There’s also a complex two-piece extendable rear wing with an adjustable wing blade and flap, and a longitudinal fin to prevent cross flow or stall at the rear.

There are three different aerodynamic modes: Highway, in which the ducts and louvres are closed and the rear wing is retracted; Race Max Downforce, where the ducts and louvres open and the rear wing extends fully; and Race DRS (Drag Reduction System), with the ducts and louvres closed and the rear wing flap retracted.

Cooling also plays a key role in the new car’s appearance with large ducts up front in the nose, an airbox that arcs over the cabin and sizeable extractors at the rear to draw hot air out of the engine bay.

The centre-locking 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels, standard in forged aluminium and optional in forged magnesium, feature carbon-fibre elements to smooth airflow and aid heat dissipation from the brakes and wheel houses.

They measure 10 inches (254mm) wide at the front and 12 inches (305mm) wide at the rear, and are shod in 285/35 ZR19 and 335/30 ZR20 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R M01 tyres developed especially for the new car.

At 4828mm in length and 2006mm in width, the One is just 2mm longer but 55mm wider than the Valkyrie. A wheelbase of 2720mm together with tracks measuring 1721mm at the front and 1669mm at the rear, and minimum ride height, provide it with a suitably squat stance.

The longitudinally-mounted V6 petrol engine boasts a bore and stroke of 80.0 and 50.03mm, giving it a swept volume of 1599cc.

Developed to run on 98 octane Super Plus fuel, it uses an electric exhaust gas turbocharger, water-injected intercooler, pneumatic valve springs and dry-sump lubrication. To ensure it satisfies all existing emission regulations, it receives electrically-heatable catalysts and petrol particulate filters. It also uses a titanium rear silencer.

The internal combustion unit develops peak power of 422kW at 9000rpm, some 2000rpm short of a claimed 11,000rpm ignition cut-out.

The four electric motors include MGU-H (Motor Generator Unit – Heat) and MGU-K (Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic) units similar to those found on the German car maker’s more recent F1 race cars.

The former 90kW MGU-H motor is housed on a shaft between the turbocharger and its electric compressor, with the latter 120kW MGU-K unit positioned on the engine and connected to the driveshaft. A further two 120kW motors are integrated in the front axle for electric all-wheel drive.

Overall power is put at 782kW, some 245kW more than the most powerful of AMG’s existing models, the GT Black Series. By comparison, the Valkyrie develops 865kW, with the SF90 Stradale offering 735kW.

Mercedes-AMG does not quote a torque figure for its most powerful road car yet, saying “The complex nature of the drivetrain does not allow a representative figure”.

A claimed kerb weight of 1695kg provides the One with a weight to power ratio of 2.2kg per kW. Mercedes-AMG claims 0-100km/h in 2.9 seconds, 0-200km/h in 7.0 seconds and 0-300km/h in 15.6 seconds.

This places it on the same performance ground as the 1670kg SF90 Stradale, which boasts official 0-100km/h and 0-200km/h times of 2.5 seconds and 6.7 seconds respectively.

Drive is sent through a newly-developed seven-speed automatic manual gearbox with hydraulic operation, a four-disc clutch and steering wheel-mounted shift paddles.

The longitudinally-mounted transmission forms part of the car’s load-bearing structure, channeling the One’s prodigious power to an AMG Performance 4Matic+ four-wheel drive system with an all-electric front axle, petrol-electric hybrid rear axle and torque vectoring functionality.

Electric energy is used to run the two front-mounted electric motors, which each send their drive through a fixed-ratio gearbox, and store electrons in an 8.1kWh lithium-ion battery.

It operates at 800 volts, providing the One with a claimed range of up to 18.1km in all-electric – and therefore front-wheel drive – mode. External charging can be achieved at up to 3.7kW on an AC system via a port on the rear left-hand side. The fuel tank capacity is put at 55 litres.

There are six driving modes: Race Safe, Race, EV, Individual, Race Plus and Strat 2 – the latter two reserved for race circuit running only.

Race Safe provides ‘on-demand’ hybrid properties of the drivetrain, with start-up on electric power, and engagement of the petrol engine only at higher throttle loads. In Race, the combustion engine is always engaged and is used to charge the battery. EV is a pure-electric mode.

All three have been conceived for use on public roads and can be individualised in a separate Individual driving mode.

At the circuit, Race Plus engages an active aerodynamic function that deploys the spoiler at a pre-determined angle for added downforce, automatically lowers the suspension, and provides what AMG describes as “special performance management” of the drivetrain.

Strat 2 (a name derived from the Strategy 2 setting on Mercedes-AMG’s F1 car) takes it all one step further, with even more extreme aerodynamic settings, a firmer suspension tune and full power from all power sources.

On top of all this, there is also a charge button. It allows the driver to supplement brake energy recuperation with charging of the battery via the combustion engine.

Underpinning the One is race-grade pushrod suspension in a five-link design both front and rear, each with transversely-mounted dampers, adjustable struts, and wheel bearings with ceramic ball bearings for a reduction in friction over more conventional steel bearings.

The driver can choose between Comfort and Sport settings in Race Safe, Race and EV modes – which also offer a lift function for the front axle – and between Sport and Sport+ in Race Plus and Strat 2 modes, in which the hydraulic suspension is automatically lowered by 37mm at the front and 30mm at the rear.

The traction control system, meanwhile, offers no less than nine stages of engagement.

The Brembo-developed brakes use ventilated and drilled carbon-ceramic discs. They measure 398x38mm with six-piston calipers at the front and 380x34mm with four-piston calipers at the rear.

The interior of the One is trimmed in a combination of synthetic leather and carbon fibre.

The thin, non-adjustable seat squabs are mounted directly to the floor of the monocoque, placing the driver and front-seat passenger as low as possible in an inclined position with your hips positioned below the height of your feet. The seat backs offer two stages of adjustment at 25 and 30 degrees.

The airbag-equipped F1-style steering wheel, with shift lights, a rotary controller for the driving modes, traction control and spoiler settings, as well as the pedal box also offer a good deal of adjustment.

Two rectangular digital displays – one for the instruments and another for car data and infotainment functions – are mounted to the dashboard.

Air conditioning and electric windows are both standard, as is a digital rear-view mirror, which operates via a rear-mounted camera in the absence of a rear window. A central storage compartment houses two USB-C ports.

There is no provision for luggage storage, though smaller items can be stored behind the seats and above the centre console.

Overseas customer deliveries of the 2022 Mercedes-AMG One are due to commence before the end of this year.

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