The Mercedes-AMG One, the Formula 1-inspired hypercar, has broken the Nürburgring lap record for road-legal production vehicles.
With a time of 6:35.183 min around the 20.832 kilometre track, DTM driver Maro Engel beat the record (posted by the Porsche 911 GT2 RS MR in 2021) by 8.0 seconds.
Mercedes-AMG, which dubs the One a Formula 1 car for the road, says the record was broken “despite less-than-ideal” damp and dirty track conditions and a still-drying racing line that only allowed for four fast timed laps.
“Like Lewis Hamilton and George Russell on their race weekends, I also had to deploy the electrical energy of the hybrid drive in the best possible way,” said DTM and Mercedes-AMG test pilot Mar Engel.
“That’s not easy, especially with this length of track. In addition, the DRS function had to be used optimally. But that’s also a real Formula 1 feeling.”
Engel drove the record-breaking lap in a last-minute push on October 28. He started his final lap at less than two minutes before track closing time at 5:15pm.
The AMG One run at the Nürburgring is identical to the version the select 275 customers will receive at delivery after paying an eye-watering AU$3.9 million.
The hypercar features a combustion engine and four electric motors which deliver a total of 782kW, and a top speed of 352km/h.
422kW of that power comes from a 1.6-litre turbocharged hybrid V6 engine, with the other 450kW coming from the four electric motors.
Two motors are placed to power the front axle, one is mounted on the turbocharger, and the final F1-style MGU-K is mounted to the crankshaft.
Feeding these electric motors is an 8.4kWh battery pack to provide 18km of all-electric power.
The engine is being built by Mercedes High Performance Powertrains, the Brixworth factory responsible for producing the brand’s F1 powertrains.
Chairman of Mercedes‑AMG GmbH Philipp Schiemer said, “Even though the AMG One is certainly more at home on a Grand Prix circuit than on the Nordschleife – as is so often the case with this project – we’ve simply gone one step further. We’re the first ever to have taken on the challenges of the Nürburgring with a super sports car.”
The active aerodynamics of the Drag Reduction System (DRS), adjustable suspension setup, and carbon monocoque are all designed to bring the One closer to the of the Mercedes-AMG F1 W13 2022 championship car born in Brackley.
Additionally, the One features a variable all‑wheel drive system and specially developed Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R MO tyres.
The road-legal hypercar model makes the 100km/h sprint in 2.9 seconds, and the run to 300 km/h in 15.6 seconds.
Customer deliveries of the Mercedes-AMG One are set to commence before the end of 2022 after production started earlier this year.
Initially meant to launch in 2019, the One has been held back by the challenge of making a powertrain derived from F1 work on the road, and meet ever-tightening emissions standards.
