Mercedes reveals the world’s first ‘F1 road car’: the Mercedes-AMG Project One

2017 F1 season

Posted on

| Written by

The Mercedes-AMG Project One, a road car featuring an F1-derived power unit, has been revealed by the manufacturer at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt.

Mercedes say the car “combines outstanding race track performance and day-to-day suitable Formula One hybrid technology with exemplary efficiency. This is a world first.”

It is powered by a 1.6-litre V6 hybrid engine which, according to Mercedes, produces more than 1,000 bhp and is capable of hitting 350 kph (217mph). It will accelerate to 200kph in less than six seconds.

The four-wheel-drive car has a hybrid-powered rear axle while the front wheels are driven by its electric motor only. It can cover up to 25 kilometres on electric power alone.

Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche said the car demonstrates the technology which has powered its F1 team to success for the last three years running.

“Motorsport is not an end in itself for us,” said Zetsche. “Faced with intense competition, we develop technologies from which our production vehicles also subsequently benefit.”

Mercedes describe the Project One as “the first Formula One car with MOT approval.”

Beyond the power unit, the car shares other similarities with its F1 counterpart. It feature a carbon fibre chassis and its available engine settings include “a highly dynamic mode which corresponds to a setting used in Formula One qualifying for optimum lap times”, according to Mercedes.

Video: Mercedes-AMG Project One

Pictures: Mercedes-AMG Project One

2017 F1 season

Browse all 2017 F1 season articles

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

86 comments on “Mercedes reveals the world’s first ‘F1 road car’: the Mercedes-AMG Project One”

  1. It sort of looks like a McLaren F1. Dunno, the front reminded me of it.

    1. Something between a Sauber-Mercedes and a C111-III for me.

      1. Very much with a bit of Porsche Mission-E and Headlights from the Bugatti Montoya drove the other day.

    2. Yeah me too. Shades of Audi A7 at the rear also.

      1. yeah !!!
        that’s why it seems so familiar.

    3. Well the penultimate picture is reminiscent of a Peel Trident, but I think that’s inadvertent :).

    4. looks a bit McLaren F1 and it uses more or less the same name as the McLaren P1 (P one!) too @fer-no65

  2. The F50 had an F1 engine, I’m sure that was not the first time either. These sophisticated and reliable engines should make a much better fit for road use than the F50 did. These engines are revving at about 10 to 13k revs which is not that high compared to some road bikes and a 1.6 engine is a very small capacity for a reliable hyper car, I’m eager to find out how are they making this happen, and if it’s going to be more than just a prototype.
    At least find a better silver!

  3. Stunning. Would love to see Merc, McLaren, RB/Aston and Ferrari all showcase their respective Hyper Cars at a race weekend.

    1. How about a World Supercars Championship, like the World Superbikes Championship, featuring these hypercars being raced?

      1. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
        12th September 2017, 8:09

        Yes I’ve thought that for a while. Would be great.

      2. @pt

        How about a World Supercars Championship, like the World Superbikes Championship, featuring these hypercars being raced?

        How would that be a new thing? Aren’t there championships like that? ‘Cause there were in the 90’s. And the GT1 category at Le Mans was for them.
        You had the McLaren F1s, Porsche GTRs, Mercedes GTRs. Ferrari F40s and all of them competing.

        1. Well, the P1 class at LeMans is pretty much dead. Maybe they’ll revamp the rules and bring back more of a 1990s style GT1 class.

        2. @damon

          Then let’s bring back GT1. These GTE Pro and GTE Am (stupid naming) cars just don’t excite. Let’s get back to the age when GT1 cars were powerful enough to win the Le Mans 24 Hours outright! That’s when the real competition comes in, with GT1 cars and LMP1 cars battling for the overall win along with their respective class wins.

      3. That would never happen. The supercar manufacturers are already famously reticent to allow direct comparisons, for example, many didn’t want Top Gear to test their car. In a direct race many manufacturers would know they would lose and thus have no reason to participate.

  4. What are the odds they say to Lewis, Now if you could park that LaFerrari for us please.

  5. New safety car…

    1. thats a nice idea

    2. Oh I like that.

      1. Yeah, I’d love to see this Mercedes beast replace their Safety Cars.

        Aston Martin doesn’t have the money to sponsor doing that @gunusugeh. Besides, what is better than having a car with the same engine as the SC.

    3. That’s a great ideia! And we wouldn’t hear anyone complaint about the SC going slowly (specialy not Lewis, or the Merc execs wouldn’t be to happy about their driver saying they hyper car is slow! :D )

      1. I believe the point of safety car is to bunch up and slow down the field so that the marshalls have enough of time to work in between the train passes. With this the between time would be just enough to get in cover again

  6. Mclaren and Ferrari ordered 2 respectively…. reverse engineering possibilities :)

    1. McLaren have ordered 40+ for 2018 delivery. But with McRenault branding.

  7. Marty (@lickitysplit101)
    11th September 2017, 21:28

    the first order is in already…..somewhere in Italy….Maranello I think….never heard of it…..

  8. Wonder if Honda`s engine designers already booked few cars….

    1. What about Alonso?

  9. compare this to the Bugatti. The merc is so much ahead in technology, its shocking.

    1. The Bugatti is a tribute to the petrol engine, it isn’t intended to be the peak of efficiency.

      Also bear in mind this Merc will go 30,000 miles before requiring an extensive rebuild. I would hazard a guess the Bugatti will go past 100k miles as easily as a TT or Golf.

    2. How about oranges vs apples? Really, two very far interpretations of the supercar concept.

    3. The bugatti is supposed be a luxury supercar with no cost spared. The merc is an f1 tech showcar.

  10. Find it strange that they call it an “F1 road car” At leased make it slightly closer to an F1 car by having the steering wheel centered like the McLaren F1. I know it makes it harder to drive on the road in a way but it hardly seems anything like an F1 car with a steering wheel off to one side.

      1. “If have a great idea. You should make it a terrible road car”

    1. “They” don’t actually.

  11. “…available engine settings include “a highly dynamic mode which corresponds to a setting used in Formula One qualifying for optimum lap times”, according to Mercedes.”

    Quali mode. Nice touch. :D

    1. I thought the La Ferrari had that as well… along with an extra oil tank ;)

      1. @todfod
        But the LaFerrari only has only a 0.9L oil tank. This will have a 1.2L.

    2. Oil burn mode.

    3. not sure what public road on earth you can you this in anger except the autobahn. the hyper-rich will prob park it at some circuit they will visit once a year and trot this thing around at 50% of its capability.

  12. Complete with shark fin. I like the safety car idea!

    1. I was scrolling to find a comment about the fin. I already hate them on F1 cars, what’s the point of keeping it on this model? I can’t believe it has an aerodynamic purpose.

      1. @m-bagattini A quick bit of googling will tell you that they have significant aerodynamic purpose.

  13. Do I have to park it on my neighbour’s drive way if they change components from the engine?

  14. Really like it apart from the 2 tablets acting as a dashboard and the sharkfin, that’s literally the worst part of a f1 car they chose to incorporate.

    1. At least the shark fin could be removed by a skilled shop. There ain’t no helping those massive intakes on the nose. I’ll be so glad when those fall out of style.

    2. im really looking forward to the update where they add some sexy t-wings!

  15. Will next year’s model have to have a split screen to accommodate the halo?

    1. Well, I’m pretty certain that this is classified as a “halo model”. So probably a split windscreen, and a 2 second delay on opening the doors.

  16. I wonder how much it costs?

    Will it be less than the new Bugatti?

    1. £2.5m, I think I read that in the Top Gear article

      1. i wonder how they come up with that price. i mean at a certain point people with that kind of wealth dont care if its 2.5 or 5 million. its chump change to them anyways. come on mercedes hit them harder! send the extra money to the poor and underprivileged!

  17. Great technology…but it looks hideous. And don’t start with things like “it’s for aero reasons”. They probably spent all of the budget in what’s beneath the body and this is the final result. Horrible.

  18. Not first at all, as many have already mentioned.

    1. Well it is supposed to be a current F1 engine which isnt scaled down, in other words a true F1 engine.

    2. I recall Lewis saying “no one ever did it right”, emphasis on “did it right”, to me it was Lewis playing the advertiser because I believe Ferrari has done it before and it did get positive feedback.

    3. @damon, Do people really only read the clickbait-y title? What Mercedes actually claim to be “first” at is in the article.

  19. That shark fin is ridiculous

  20. Not mentioned in the article on here but this engine is so close to the F1 power unit that it’s only good for 30,000 miles before requiring an extensive engine rebuild.

    I don’t know if that’s impressive dedication to the cause or an appalling waste, 30k really isn’t that much for your 2.5million…

    1. @offdutyrockstar
      Maybe not but I doubt any one of them will ever exceed 10.000 miles.

    2. What would be considered much for 2.5million?

      1. @rethla at least as much mileage as a LaFerrari, P1 or Chiron surely?

        Baron, fair point!

  21. Nice

    Now that MB did its purpose and produced an F1 hybrid technology car and all the world is totally happy (even the hurricane changed its course for this in the US) and Jean Todt cries of Joy because his dream of F1 efficient engines in road cars now is true, then can we please move on and get rid of this ridiculous expensive engines that we have now where two Engine manufacturers at least have problems to catch up and go back to V10 or V12 NA engines?

    Can you do that pls?

    And if you do this then please dear sirs can you make also some extra changes? to bring the joy and happiness to all of us here that every racing weekend we wonder if the next race will be a borefest or something will happen to make us happy? and that the Pole Sitter will not win the 90% of the races in the last 3 years?

    1. A Simple front wing like the front wings of the 80’s
    2. Bring back the ‘ground effect’ downforce
    3. Get Rid of the DRS completely because 1. and 2. will make passing and following possible.

    Thank You

    1. Why should they go back now? Going forward the engines will cost less.

      1. So you are a believer.
        You really believe that there is a future where Renault or Honda or even Ferrari will match MB power?

        1. Ofc. there is and even if there isnt its ok anyway since teams manage to challenge them without matching their power. I want standardised engines as little as anything else being standaradised on the car.

          1. You forget than even the teams with the same Engine cannot touch the Mother company. I dont believe that there is a fair game there somehow and its not only the engine oil they use.

        2. You really believe that there is a future where Renault or Honda or even Ferrari will match MB power?

          We are pretty much there now. Ferrari and Renault are not that far away from Merc.

  22. I seem to recall Ferrari doing this back in the days of the V-10 engine – the F50?

    1. yep, MS was helping with the same way LH is now. Not the fiirst time, not the last time. But its certainly the most sophisticated.

    2. @gnosticbrian With efficient hybrid technology and also “day-to-day suitable”? From what I understood the F50’s engine was half baked and it was a horrible car to drive. So no.

      1. Patricil – my comment was directed at the headline “Mercedes reveals the world’s first ‘F1 road car’” and remains valid.

        By the way, have you actually driven an F50? I seem to recall Clarkson, when he tested the F50 on Top Gear, saying that he knew of NO car that turned into a corner like an F50. You can find his review on YouTube. Every mid-engined car that I have ever driven could be tricky on the limit.

        1. Agreed. The F50 was very much one of the very best ever Ferraris, due to exceptional handling, feel and performance compared to almost all others. You just had to shut your eyes and hope all onlookers did the same. It was hideous… :)

      2. the f50 was based on an f1 engine, and so is this car.. don’t be gullible that it will have an f1 engine in the car that lasts only 4000km and has “day to day suitability” . the f50 was a great supercar for its time, second only to another Ferrari, the older f40 when released, and hence it had some bad reviews, because the f40 was so damn good.

  23. Mixed of P1 and 918.

  24. It’s probably going to be a sensational machine, but it looks like a kit car or a low volume production sports car. They’ve really thrown a big dose of bland in the style department. I think even the blandest of the hyper cars, the Porsche 918 has more flare.

    When the target market is going to be P1, 918, La Ferrari, Regera, Valkyrie, Chiron, and Huayra owners, I can’t help but think Mercedes have phoned it in styling the car. It will obviously still sell out though.

  25. OK, seems like a reasonable question: what will the reliability be like on this nearly $3m car? I mean the f1 engines are good for what, 700 km? Oh wait, if you can afford $3m for the car, you can afford a new engine every 1,000 km, right ;-)?

  26. Reading the comments got me thinking and you’re absolutely right guys. This is car looks terribly bland and unorginial. The front looks like a Porsche with Bugatti Chiron’s headlights, the rear totally looks like a Porsche.
    The car doesn’t at all look like a Mercedes. And to think they once built a Mercedes CLK GTR. What a beast that was…

  27. Will we finally have a worthy F1 safety car? Let’s see if Lewis complains about its speed. :)

  28. The styling is… generic. It’s the kind of supercar you’d see in a video game that doesn’t have licensed real-world cars.

    Still, I’m kind of glad they didn’t load it with styling cues from other Mercedes models. Form follows function.

  29. Amazing! Along with the Valkyrie from RB, the future looks bright

Comments are closed.