AMG boss Tobias Moers confirmed at the recent Detroit motor show that Mercedes-AMG’s upcoming hypercar, codenamed Project One, will be revealed at this year’s Frankfurt motor show ahead of its international launch in 2018.
The hypercar will use the 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine found in the W07 Formula 1 race car, tuned down for the road. It is also set to use both forms of energy recovery systems found in modern Formula 1 cars – the MGU-K that converts mechanical and heat energy into electrical energy that can be stored for later deployment, and the MGU-H system that takes heat from the exhaust and uses it to create electrical energy.
Moers confirmed that it will get 1,014hp, which is similar to the power generated by the Mercedes Formula 1 car from which the powertrain is derived. That makes it competitive with the likes of the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder, and the Aston Martin and Red Bull-developed AM-RB 001.
Additionally, the Project One hypercar will also have an all-wheel-drive system with an electrically driven front axle. This will enable the front wheels to be driven individually so torque can be distributed selectively – a technology already seen in the SLS AMG Electric Drive in the form of AMG Torque Dynamics.
The car will have an electric range of 25km and, according to Moers, will be one of the “most fascinating two-seaters to ever hit the road.”
Moers said that less than 300 units of the model would be made, costing around €2m, and expects all units to be sold before its reveal at Frankfurt. Buyers' first drives will take place in mid-2018.
Mercedes will begin running prototypes in October this year, and Moers had previously confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will join the team of development drivers “when the time is right”.
“Our aim is [for the Project One] to be the first street legal car with an F1 engine,” said Mercedes boss Dr Dieter Zetsche. “Secondly, that it is perceived as the ultimate sports car. We have relatively good indications that this is possible.”
The car’s body is styled around a carbon-fibre monocoque similar to the one used in F1. The only official visual of the model is a sketch, shown at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), with the strapline ‘Creating benchmark driving pleasure’. The image shows a large roof scoop and louvre vents on the rear upper panel, confirming that it will be mid-engined.