You might not every be able to afford the multi-million-dollar Mercedes-AMG One, but this amazing hypercar just set a new record at Nürburgring.
Even though this incredible, racing-styled car is a production car in terms of a few models being made, it is a production car. The One took to the Nürburgring-Nordschleife track which is a 12.944-mile run in October. According to Mercedes, parts of the track where still drying off, but that didn’t stop them from completing this run in record time. Let’s dig in and learn more about this car and its incredible feat of speed.
Mercedes Made it Official
The Mercedes-AMG team used the official start/finish line in section T13, which has been used time and time again for performance cars to show up and show off with fast laps. The One was piloted by DTM racing champion Maro Engel who recently won the Nürburgring 24-Hour race. With everything in line, official, and ready to go, the stage was set for this amazing hypercar and the team behind it to set a record. The new track time set by this incredible car at the famous Green Hell is 6:35.183.
This Wasn’t the First Record Time for Engel
Why did Mercedes choose Maro Engel for this lap record? He has some experience running fast cars around this particular track to set lap records. In 2020 Engle set a production car record of 6:48.047 in the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series. This record stood for less than a year when the Porsche 911 GT2 RS Manthey beat it with a time of 6:43.300 in 2021. Its only fitting that Mercedes gave Engel a chance to regain his record time and the Mercedes-AMG One is a fitting car to perform such a feat.
What Does the AMG One Bring to the Table?
This incredible Mercedes hypercar is something special. If you ever wanted to see a street-legal Formula 1 car, this is it. This car is powered by a 1.6-liter V6 that revs up to 11,000 rpm and uses four electric motors to provide most of the power for this amazing car. Instead of one electric motor at each wheel, two are at the front wheels, one mated to the engine, and the fourth one powers the turbocharger. This combination hits a claimed power number of more than 1000 horsepower, giving this amazing car the power and speed to achieve a fast lap at Nürburgring.
This Car Delivers an Amazing Design
The One isn’t quite as cut down or trimmed out as an F1 car because it needs to remain street legal to rip off fast laps and perform at a top level. That said, this car is just as aerodynamic as an F1 car. The body is made of lightweight carbon fiber, giving this car a low curb weight of 3,737 pounds. This amazing car is sleek, low, and built for some serious speed.
The Batteries Are a Huge Part of the Puzzle
The batteries used in the Mercedes-AMG One are sourced from F1 racing. These batteries feature an 800-volt architecture and an advanced cooling system to bring power were desired. An onboard 3.7-kW charger pushes alternating current power to the batteries to keep them charged. This electrical system is also boosted by regenerative energy. Strangely, there is an all-electric range of about 11 miles.
Several Driving Modes for a Car Made for Track-Day Fun
Its not likely you’ll turn the One into a grocery-getter, but you might need to drive it to the track. When starting this amazing car, the two electric motors at the front axle start up before the engine, which might be a weird feeling. There are six driving modes for this car – Race, Race Safe, EV, Race Pus, Strat 2, and Individual. The Race Safe mode is the standard setting which is what could be used while driving from track to track. Nearly all of the other settings are only good for track fun. Of course, the Individual mode could set up some personalized driving qualities.
Highway Speeds, What Highway Speeds
With the Mercedes-AMG One a driver won’t need a long acceleration lane to get up to highway speeds. This amazing hypercar can accelerate to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds, which is extremely quick. A driver that takes this car to a track could see that it hits 124 mph in seven seconds and 186 mph in 15.6 seconds on the way to the 218 mph top speed. To hit these top numbers you might need a long runway to see if you can hit these speeds.
Its Not All F1 for this Mercedes-AMG Hypercar
Cars that run the F1 series aren’t set up with AWD. The One does include an AWD system, which makes it a performance monster. This system is a variable AMG performance 4Matic+ AWD with torque vectoring. Power is sent to whichever wheel needs it and allows the car to adjust instantly to the driving conditions. This system certainly helped this car hit the new Nürburgring lap time record.
This Car Brings Active Aerodynamics to the Track
Setting the Mercedes-AMG One in track model allows the car to lower by 37 millimeters in the front and 30 millimeters in the rear. The louvers open and the rear wing and flap are fully extended during this mode. This setup gives this car the maximum downforce desired to make some of the fastest racing times ever seen. The Race DRS mode helps the car hit top speeds by retracting the rear wing flap and closing the louvers.
A Modern Interior with F1 Racing Style
The steering apparatus of the Mercedes-AMG One is a large F1-styled device that isn’t round, but more of a rectangle with a low curve for the driver’s legs. There are two screens in front of the driver, one for the gauges and one for infotainment. The necessary controls are on the wheel, giving this interior a clean and modern appearance. As expected, the doors and trim are finished in carbon fiber. Unlike F1 cars, the One does have air conditioning and electric windows to make it livable.
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