The One will remain a unicorn for AMG as Mercedes’ high-performance division will not be developing another road-legal hypercar with an F1 car heart. Affalterbach’s director of vehicle development, Steffen Jastrow, said Car sell at the C63 S launch in Australia there will be no direct successor due to tougher emissions regulations. After working on the car, he admitted that it was difficult to make the One according to WLTP standards.
“I wouldn’t say we’re never going to have a new hypercar, but there are no plans for one yet. But I think a hypercar based on a Formula 1 powertrain? I don’t think that’s an opportunity. I think if you want to have it in someone in the future, not just AMG or Mercedes, who can bring a Formula 1 engine to a production car, I think this is one time – one moment we choose to do that.”
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With Euro 7 regulations coming into force later this decade, the chances of seeing a road car powered by an F1 engine are slim. Unsurprisingly, Jastrow is far more optimistic about the prospects for electric hypercars, saying it will be easier to certify a zero emission performance engine for road use. As a refresher, AMG is no stranger to the concept, having built nine SLS AMG Electric Drive quad-motor units about a decade ago.
With the Vision AMG concept launched last year, Mercedes is providing a window into the future of electric performance. One of three platforms the German brand is working on is AMG.EA for a pure electric sports car. It is being developed from the ground up and aims to deliver “revolutionary drivetrain technology,” according to AMG CEO Philipp Schiemer, who will step down on March 1.
Meanwhile, AMG has started production of the One and recently delivered its first car to a customer. Only 275 units were made, and they sold out long ago. It is the fastest road vehicle on several important tracks, including Nordschleife, Hockenheim (Grand Prix layout), and Red Bull Ring.
The AMG One isn’t the only hypercar that relies heavily on F1-derived technology as the Aston Martin Valkyrie was developed in collaboration with Red Bull Racing. A radical version dubbed AMR Pro eschews license plates to unlock the vehicle’s full potential on the circuit.
