Mercedes-AMG has officially taken the wraps off of the highly anticipated Project One. The Mercedes-AMG Project ONE will celebrate its world première at the 2017 Frankfurt International Motor Show: for the first time, the two-seater supersports show car brings the very latest and efficient, fully-fledged Formula 1 hybrid technology from the race track to the road almost par for par to represent the highlight of AMG’s 50th anniversary.
This high-performance hybrid is said to produce over 1.000 hp and reach top speeds beyond 217 mph. The show car combines outstanding race track performance and day-to-day suitable Formula 1 hybrid technology with exemplary efficiency.
The high-performance plug-in hybrid drive system of the Mercedes-AMG Project ONE comes directly from Formula 1 and was realised in close cooperation with the motorsport experts of Mercedes-AMG High-Performance Powertrains in Brixworth. It consists of a highly integrated and intelligently networked unit comprising one hybrid, turbocharged combustion engine with a total of four electric motors. One has been integrated into the turbocharger, another has been installed directly on the combustion engine with a link to the crankcase and the two remaining motors drive the front wheels.
Those electric motors even allow for a completely zero-emission EV mode while the turbo-hybrid setup takes cues from the Project One’s F1 counterparts, utilizing 80% of the force from the carbon brakes to re-power the battery with unparalleled efficiency.
The design of the show car is very obviously inspired by the premium class in motorsport. But above all, it embodies the Mercedes-AMG principle that fascination is always linked with function. Every part has a specific purpose. The result is a mid-engine concept, extremely muscular proportions with the cockpit well forward, large wheel arches, a wasp waist and an extended rear end.
The interior design concept of this ultimate driving machine follows function on the racetrack, and this is expressed in the radical design idiom. Formula 1 technology is made authentically tangible on both the race track and the road. Here too every detail has a function, with nothing included merely for visual reasons. In the monocoque interior, the reduced components are emphasised in minimalist style both in design and functional terms.
The steering wheel with flattened upper and lower sections and an integrated airbag offers motorsport functionality, as do the two integrated controllers which can be used to set adjustment functions, such as the driving modes and suspension setup, or the LED shift display in the upper steering wheel area.
The door panels are in functional, high-grade carbon-fibre, and integrate smoothly into the sporty interior. As if to mirror the aero winglets of the exterior, the door panelling is visually interrupted to create space for technical implements and a generously concave door centre panel. An aluminium cassette combines the air vents and power window switches, which are integrated as deeply recessed rectangles
Stay tuned for more on the still-in-the-works Project One and don’t expect the final model to come cheap: prices are expected to exceed $3.25 million USD.
all images courtesy of Daimler AG