I did not think Mercedes-AMG was serious about putting its 1,000-horsepower Project One hypercar on the road when it was first unveiled in 2017, my skepticism was reinforced by delays, but it doesn’t seem like the Benz boys and girls are quite ready to give up. You can now watch a prototype rip in track testing.
And if you need a reminder on what this car is all about, the initial release promised an F1 powertrain with 1,000 horsepower from a 1.6-liter V6 with four electric motors, a top speed of 217 mph, and 60 mph in under six seconds. Ha, wait, no, I meant 124 mph in under six seconds.
Mercedes-AMG is claiming early versions of the car can be driven at their “full” intended four-figure HP output. These demo cars have reportedly been whipping around MB’s test track at Immendingen and will be continuously futzed with for some time. Then, eventually, on to “the north loop of the Nürburgring” I guess!
From a press release:
“The adaptation of a complete Formula1 drive unit for a road-legal hypercar is a tremendous undertaking. This adaption will result in new standards being set for performance in a road-going vehicle, and thus set a new milestone in automotive history for Mercedes-AMG. The Project One must deliver exceptionally in terms of everyday driving as well as its performance capabilities, and also must be able to drive in all-electric mode. In many aspects, such as noise level, the development team ventured into uncharted territory with this project, working with great tenacity and exceptional engineering expertise to find solutions that could be developed to production maturity.”
Sounds neat, looks incredible, though I can’t say I feel strongly about society needing an F1 hybrid-powered car. Though I probably don’t have to worry about running into one, last time I checked the list price was north of $2,000,000 and less than 300 models were slated for the U.S. market. Though even that seems like a lot. There are really hundreds of people who want something like this?
Anyway, Mercedes wants you to know its people are still tinkering away on the thing and I think you should give that video clip a watch for the audio track alone. Car sounds wicked.
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