Without a successor, the reincarnation of the circuit formula will remain as a touring car. The limited edition Mercedes was created at the last possible moment and will forever remain the only one of its kind.
More than five years of protracted problems are over and Mercedes has finally started delivering the first pieces of the uncompromising AMG One model. The unprecedented homologated specialty cost more than 60 million CZK, yet all 275 production units sold out in a flash. The value will immediately increase due to the combination of extreme technology paying tribute to internal combustion engines.
The longitudinally mounted hybrid six-cylinder with a volume of 1.6 liters spins up to 11,000 revolutions in the limiter, which correctly resembles Formula 1. The development of the brutal drive copied the experience of the royal motor sport, which is why the launch was delayed by years. Mercedes engineers themselves admitted that civilizing F1 technology was almost beyond their power, next time they would have the same project they thought it through much more carefully. “It is the most special car we have ever realized together with AMG and our partners in Formula 1,” pointed out Steffen Jastrow from the top development position.
The director of the development center sees the One as the last car of its kind. “I think this is a one-time project. I don’t think there will be any successor. Not in the definition we’ve created,” Jastrow stated. With the message, he alluded to huge problems with homologation regulations and emissions for the more than 1,000-horsepower hybrid.
The tighter requirements for measured values are the reason why the AMG One will remain the holy grail without a direct successor to the hypersport throne. Developers agree that the theoretical successor to the two-seater gasoline-powered rocket will be fully electric if it is created. Jastrow has not ruled out a new hypersport in the future, but they are not planning anything like that at AMG yet. On the contrary, he categorically rejected the possibility of building another unique car powered by an F1 engine.
Limited Mercedes was created at the last possible moment. Jastrow recalculated the grays, overlooked the years-long troubles with putting the One into service and rationally recognized that Stuttgart had used the very last chances to transfer formula technology to a production car. According to him, the combination of reliability and ecology of a high-speed six-cylinder engine will never be repeated again. Daunting standards are imposed on full-fledged electric cars, which can potentially be faster than the One, but at the expense of driving experience and character.
