Mercedes-AMG unveils the Project One
The automotive media fraternity is present in its entirety at the Frankfurt Motor Show. But Mercedes thought that the motor show wasn’t fit enough for what it had in store. So, it went about having its own media day ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show. And understandably so, the Project One as Mercedes has been calling it was unveiled to the media. the Project One is probably one of the most consequential cars for Mercedes-AMG. And no, its not because of how many you will see, there will only be 275 made. Its because Mercedes-AMG might just have put in all of their racing supremacy into a road going rocketship in a way no other manufacturer has done before. Not even Bugatti. Yes, not even Bugatti. Now, before you start losing your mind like we at evoIndia are, let us get some numbers out of the way. Bear in mind, just some though. Mercedes is not divulging much at this stage, but what they have is enough to get the whole automotive world collectively blow their minds. Okay, here we go.
The Mercedes-AMG Project One is powered primarily by a 1.6 litre V6 turbo hybrid petrol which just happens to be in Lewis Hamilton’s car every other weekend. Although the redline is now brought down to a mere 11,000rpm from the 15,000rpm in the F1 car for serviceability reasons. A total of four electric motors work in conjunction with the engine to deliver power north of a 1000bhp. The turbocharged V6 has a built in electric motor in the turbocharger to get rid of turbo lag; there is a 160bhp motor that works on the crankshaft; also two electric motors drive the front two wheels and when in pure EV mode can just drive the car as a front wheel drive car much like the i8. The gearbox is an 8 speed Automated Manual with paddle shifters on the F1 steering wheel.
Still with us? Stay, because there’s more. AMG says that the V6 in the project one has a better throttle response than a naturally aspirated V8 because the turbo’s exhaust gas and turbines work together in the MGU-H exactly like that of an F1 car. At part throttle, the turbo is driving a generator on the turbo’s shaft and when you floor the accelerator, the generator reverses into a motor spinning up the turbo instantaneously. AMG reckons that the 80 percent of the energy applied to the brakes can be recovered and used to recharge the batteries for when you hit the apex. The batteries and the cooling system themselves are identical to the ones used in Formula One by Lewis Hamilton and the like. It runs a high voltage 800V system to ensure that the wires have to output a lower amount of current meaning that they can be thinner and lighter.
The design is a wind tunnel obsessed amalgamation of F1 elements for a road car. Remarkably, the body is devoid of creases like the other recent AMG supercars aiding its aerodynamics. The doors open forward and upward and there is an air intake on the roof to cool the engine. The air intake transforms into a shark fin of some sorts as we move to the rear of the car and improves lateral stability, AMG claims. A pop up rear wing works as an airbrake too and works alongside the retractable front wheel arch extractors for increased downforce and lower drag. There are three modes: an EV mode, a hybrid mode and a race mode. The suspension is a unique pushrod type design and they work with ten spoke forged aluminium wheels with carbon aero covers to create as little drag as possible. The seats are fixed to the carbon tub and cannot be moved. Like the Ford GT however, the pedalbox and the steering wheel can be repositioned.
With all that tech wizardly, the Project one can get to 200kmph from standstill in a scant 6 seconds. Just for reference, the Bugatti Chiron takes 6.5 seconds. And well, like all things nice, it dosent come cheap. The Project One will set you back by 2.72 million USD. Already looking for savings plans now?
