Creating a street-legal hypercar with an F1 engine was a significant challenge for Mercedes-AMG, but they achieved it with the AMG One. The hypercar was introduced in September 2017, and production began in August 2022 after overcoming many engineering challenges. F1 champion Nico Rosberg, who ordered his in 2018, had to wait six years to finally receive the car. A new video highlights just how delicate this F1 car for the road truly is.
The AMG One’s turbocharged 1.6-liter V-6 engine requires a rebuild every 31,000 miles. Beyond that, the car’s startup procedure must be followed precisely. Nico Rosberg once shut off the car before the engine reached its optimal temperature. If this happens six times in a row, Mercedes disables the car, preventing further use. To reactivate it, an AMG technician must be called to unfreeze the car with a laptop.
When stationary, it takes 5-8 minutes for the combustion engine to reach optimal temperature, while driving reduces this time to 2-5 minutes. The hypercar always starts in fully electric mode, with the internal combustion engine activating only when the catalytic converter reaches 932°F, a process taking 60 to 90 seconds. During this period, the AMG One functions like an electric vehicle.
Once the combustion engine is running, the AMG One, known as the fastest production car around the Nürburgring, becomes extremely loud. So much so that Mercedes-AMG includes noise-canceling headphones for drivers, as the 120 decibels can be overwhelming. During development, it was even louder, but engineers managed to tone it down slightly. The sound is purely mechanical, with no artificial enhancement.
Mercedes-AMG CTO Jochen Hermann shared with Rosberg that perfecting the software was the most challenging part of the development process. Lowering the engine’s idle speed from the F1 car’s 5,000 rpm to 1,250 rpm was also a significant challenge.
Hermann stated that the AMG One was the most complex car Mercedes has ever developed and believes it will never be replicated. The brand has ruled out creating another F1-powered road car due to stricter emissions regulations. Only 275 units of the AMG One are being hand-built, with F1 drivers like David Coulthard also among the buyers.
Nico Rosberg’s AMG One features a unique black three-pointed star at the front, which took 16 layers of hand-applied paint, adding to its exclusivity.
