Well, possibly not but it sure tries to act like one.
The Mercedes-AMG One is an affront to physics. There simply shouldn’t be a way that you can squeeze a Formula 1 car’s powertrain into a road car and make it work. The people who built it will say it almost didn’t. Say what you will about “the next billionaire’s toy,” the raw engineering here must be respected.
That’s doubly true when you see the AMG One in motion. While only a mere 55 seconds long, we get a look at the AMG One at pace on Germany’s Hockenheimring, one of the country’s most iconic tracks. Funnily enough, the AMG One doesn’t sound much like an F1 car at all.
Mercedes-Benz
We’ve included below a video of Nico Rosberg’s 2016 German Grand Prix run. This was still early in the hybrid era, but the sounds of the cars haven’t changed much in the last six years. Play the two back-to-back, and there are some obvious changes. The AMG One just doesn’t sound as mad as Rosberg’s car. One of those spins north of 11,000 RPM and the other doesn’t.
The AMG also sounds much deeper than the Formula car. We’re thinking part of that is down to the different exhaust systems as well as the rev range. Honestly, we think the AMG One sounds better than a new Formula 1 car. F1 has lost a lot of that aural pleasure since the dawn of the hybrid era, but Mercedes made it work in the AMG One.
Then, of course, there are the speeds. This is admittedly tough to compare, but Nico’s car appears much faster down Hockenheim’s main straight. You can also see Nico braking much later. Nico was also on a pretty quick lap at this point, so its fair to say he was likely pushing harder than the driver of the AMG One.
Differences in sound and driving style aside, it’s incredibly cool to see the newer Merc out on track. Watching the active aero flatten itself against the bodywork is a sight to behold, and we love watching these big, high-power cars around F1 tracks. The AMG One will never be as fast as a Formula 1 car, but it’s a special street car that is able to hold its own against the top level of motorsports.
