A New Beast in Town - Mercedes-AMG Project One

A couple of months ago, the 2016 F1 World Champion, Nico Rosberg, announced on his Instagram account a road car featuring an F1 hybrid engine and technology. Since then, the car has generated significant hype among petrolheads, and the wait was over as the Project One was revealed in all its glory on September 14th at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt. Mercedes says that this is the "first Formula One" car to be approved for road use, and it has the technology and performance to prove it.

This is undoubtedly the most powerful and complex hypercar ever made by any manufacturer. The 1.6-liter V6 hybrid engine is derived directly from a Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 racing car, which can produce more than 1,000 horsepower. The mechanical valve springs have been replaced with pneumatic valve springs to achieve greater engine speeds. Like most Porsches, this is a mid-engined hypercar that can easily reach speeds of 11,000 RPM, a unique feat for a road-going car. However, for higher longevity and the use of commercially available super plus petrol instead of racing fuel, it remains significantly lower than the F1 engine speed limit.

The electric motors in the front axle are no ordinary motors; while the state-of-the-art electric motors can reach speeds of up to 20,000 rpm, the motors in the front axle are capable of reaching speeds of up to 50,000 rpm. And the high-revving engine is further boosted by a high-tech turbocharger(powered by one of the four electric motors). The exhaust gas and compressor turbines are positioned optimally on the exhaust and intake sides of the V6 engine. They are connected via a shaft featuring a 90 kW electric motor, capable of driving the turbines at speeds of up to 100,000 rpm. Mercedes has also added an MGU-H (Motor Generator Unit Heat), which recovers electric power and stores it in a battery for the electric motors by converting the heat generated during braking.

The major advantage is that it has almost no turbo lag (delayed power response from the turbochargers), which Mercedes claims is shorter than a naturally aspirated V8 engine. The electric turbocharger also offers another advantage, as it utilizes the electric power generated by the MGU-H and stored in the high-voltage lithium-ion battery to provide additional power by feeding it into an additional electric motor. This motor produces 120 kW and has been directly installed on the engine, linking to the crankshaft via the MGU-K (Motor Generator Unit Kinetic), another technology used in Formula One that ensures maximum efficiency and performance.

The thermal efficiency of the combustion engine with the electric turbocharger (MGU-H) and the motor on the crankshaft (MGU-K) exceeds 4 percent, marking a new milestone reached by the Mercedes-AMG Project One, which surpasses the efficiency of no other production car. There are two additional 120 kW electric motors at the front axle (one for each wheel), which enable individual acceleration and braking of each front wheel and allow for the selective distribution of torque for optimal grip around corners.

Unlike its hypercar competitor, the Ferrari LaFerrari, which is powered by internal combustion engines, the Project One can be driven by all-electric motors, with its motors located at the front axle. If the driver wants more power, they can simply press the pedal hard, and the V6 engine kicks in, providing more speed and acceleration. With the new race function, starts can always be near perfect, as both the V6 engine and all-electric motors dispatch power to the wheels with optimum power and minimal wheel spin. The car can reach 200 kph in under 6 seconds. If the driver releases the throttle, the vehicle automatically switches to all-electric mode. While breaking under normal driving conditions, the car is capable of recovering up to 80 percent of the electric energy and storing it in the battery.

The power is transferred to the rear wheels by an 8-speed manual transmission, which can be operated in automatic mode or manually using paddle shifts. The transmission is designed and developed from scratch, specially for the Mercedes-AMG Project One. The car is equipped with weight-optimized ceramic brakes, which significantly reduce weight and help the car put down power more quickly, providing enhanced agility.

The adjustable coil-over suspension features several special characteristics; both push-rod spring struts are installed in the direction of travel. The overall setup of the springs and dampers is configured for perfectly balanced, easily controlled handling, giving the car a sporty characteristic. These are also assisted by all-wheel drive and torque vectoring.

The Mercedes-AMG Project One is not only a street-legal racing beastly machine, but you can also use it as a day-to-day car for your groceries and other chores. Its purpose is to gather more findings on performance-oriented plug-in hybrid drive technology, further develop suspension layouts, and extend on-board electronics that will later benefit series-production AMG cars. And you can have all this in 2018 for a price tag of just $ 2.8 million.