AMG Reveals F1 Hypercar Heart

F1-powered road car’s mind-bending 735kW powertrain

- Scott Newman

MERCEDES-AMG is attempting to do what no other manufacturer has managed: install a Formula One engine in a road-going production car. Nestled midships in AMG’s forthcoming hypercar, codenamed Project One, is, in essence, the same turbocharged V6 that has powered Mercedes’ F1 cars to three-straight drivers’ and constructors’ titles.

First presented as an idea at the 2016 Paris Motor Show, ahead of the recent Nurburgring 24-Hour AMG boss Tobias Moers went into more detail about the ambitious project alongside a static model of the Project One’s mechanical layout. The powertrain is incredibly complicated, incorporating a 1.6litre turbo V6 capable of revving to 11,000rpm, aided by a 120kW electric motor on each front wheel, another 100kW electric motor attached to the crankshaft and a final 80kW electric motor driving the turbo for immediate response.