Mercedes-Benz and its AMG performance division unveiled their new Project ONE hybrid hypercar ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show. As promised, the car is an absolute technical marvel.
“The hypercar is the most ambitious project we have ever undertaken. It marks yet another pinnacle of the successful, strategic development of Mercedes-AMG towards a performance and sports car brand,” Tobias Moers, Mercedes-AMG boss, said in a statement. “Project ONE raises the bar in terms of what is currently technologically feasible and thanks to its combination of efficiency and performance it represents an absolute benchmark. At the same time, Project ONE provides an outlook on how AMG will define driving performance in the future.”
On stage to present Project ONE ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show were Mercedes-Benz chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche and Lewis Hamilton, the company’s superstar driver.
The Project ONE’s engine and many other systems come from Mercedes-AMG’s back-to-back-to-back World Championship winning Formula One Team.
According to Hamilton, the Project ONE’s engine is lifted straight from his 2015 Grand Prix car. That year, Hamilton won 10 races en route to his third world title.
With more than 1,000 horsepower on tap, the Project ONE’s 1.6 liter, turbocharged V6 engine and accompanying electrical motors make up one of the most complex drive units ever installed in a road car.
The V6 has an incredible 11,000 RPM red line.
The engine’s crankshaft is attached to an electric motor that can virtually eliminate turbo lag while generating electricity by harnessing the engine’s kinetic energy. In Formula One circles, this electric motor is called the Motor Generator Unit Kinetic or MGU-K. The engine and MGU-K duo drive the rear wheels while producing more than 670 horsepower.
In fact, the engine’s turbocharger is an engineering marvel in and of itself.The engine features a split turbocharger design that keeps the hot exhaust gasses that power the turbo away from the compressor, thereby leading to more power through cooler and denser air being fed into the engine. The two sides of the turbo are connected by a shaft, which itself is equipped with a 121 horsepower electric motor capable of powering the compressor in case there isn’t enough boost coming from the exhaust gasses. The folks in F1 call this electric turbo the Motor Generator Unit Heat or MGU-H.
The Project ONE also has a pair of electric motors, each producing 161 horses, bolted onto the front axle. This gives the hypercar a virtual all-wheel drive system.
In total, it has one engine and four electric motors. Together they power the Project One to a top speed of more than 217 mph and 0-124 mph in less than six seconds.
Inside, the Project ONE is all F1 as well. The adjustable seats are integrated into the car’s carbon fiber monocoque. Overall, the floating displays and rectangular steering scream hard core racer.
Sadly all 275 Project ONEs have already been sold for €2.275 million or US$2.72 million each. Production cars are expected to arrive in 2019.
Read the original story at Business Insider
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