It’s been an agonisingly long wait but the road-legal Mercedes-AMG One has finally been fully revealed, packing a whopping 782 kW and a heady top speed of 352 kph. Let’s take a closer look…

The wait is over! The production version of the Mercedes-AMG One has been unveiled, finally fulfilling the German brand’s promise to bring Formula 1 hybrid technology to the road.

Let’s get right to the headline numbers. The two-seater hypercar generates a hefty 782 kW courtesy of a single combustion engine and four electric motors, culminating in a top speed of 353 kph. Interestingly, Mercedes-AMG doesn’t list a peak torque figure, saying that quoting such a specification is “not possible due to [the] complex drivetrain”.

As you might have guessed, however, acceleration is impressive, with the 0-100 kph sprint taking a claimed 2.9 seconds in the angriest of the six drive modes, the 200 kph mark arriving in just 7.0 seconds and the speedometer reading 300 kph in a mere 15.6 seconds. If you’re wondering just how much the Mercedes-AMG One weighs, we can tell youits kerb weight is listed as 1 695 kg.

A closer look at the Mercedes-AMG One’s powertrain

Though the centrepiece is the F1-derived, turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 plug-in hybrid petrol engine (driving the rear axle through a freshly developed 7-speed automated manual gearbox), a 90 kW electric motor has also been integrated into the turbocharger, with another 120 kW unit installed directly on the combustion engine with a link to the crankcase. The two remaining 120 kW electric motors, meanwhile, drive the front wheels.

The V6 engine is mid-mounted in front of the rear axle and revs up to a lofty 11 000 rpm. On its own, the six-cylinder unit churns out 422 kW at 9 000 rpm. Mercedes-AMG says the powerplant provides “lightning-quick” responses (far “faster than a naturally aspirated V8 engine”, it claims).

Interestingly, the electric exhaust gas turbocharger in the Mercedes-AMG One is also able to use part of the surplus energy from the exhaust gas flow to generate electrical energy as a generator. This is then stored in the 8.4 kWh high-voltage lithium-ion battery (good for a pure electric range of 18.1 km, says Mercedes) or fed to either the front-mounted electric motors or the electric motor on the combustion engine.

Thanks to those two electric motors (each reaching rotor speeds of up to 50 000 rpm) on the front axle, the Mercedes-AMG One features a new flavour of all-wheel drive. The front axle operates wheel-selectively, thus benefitting from individual torque distribution.

Under the new Mercedes-AMG One’s skin

What sort of size is the most powerful AMG-badged road car yet? Well, the One measures 4 756 mm long, 2 010 mm wide and stands 1 261 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2 720 mm. It features a carbon-fibre monocoque and a carbon-fibre body.

Suspension comprises a multi-link arrangement (both front and rear) with push-rod spring struts installed across the direction of travel, along with adaptive damping. As part of the vehicle’s active aerodynamics, the chassis can be lowered hydraulically by 37 mm fore and 30 mm aft.

What about the wheels? Well, the One rides on 10-spoke forged aluminium centre-lock wheels as standard, with 9-spoke magnesium forged items available as an option. Up front, the wheels are shod in specially developed 285/35 ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R M01 tyres, with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R M01 rubber in size 335/30 ZR20 employed at the rear.

Braking is taken care of by a carbon-fibre ceramic high-performance composite system. The front axle sports 6-piston fixed callipers and internally ventilated and perforated 398 x 38 mm discs, while the rear axle is fitted with 4-piston fixed callipers and 380 x 34 mm discs.

Let’s take a look at the Mercedes-AMG One’s cabin

Mercedes-Benz’s Affalterbach-based performance division says the interior design concept “follows function on the racetrack”, which results in “bold minimalism” for the monocoque interior.

The backrests of the AMG Motorsport seat pans can be adjusted to two positions, the steering column is electrically adjustable and the pedal box is mechanically adjustable in eleven steps. You’ll also notice two high-resolution, free-standing 10-inch displays, which are finished in what AMG describes as “real metal parts”.

Then there’s the F1-style race steering wheel, complete with a shift light at the very top of the rim. Flattened at the top and bottom and fitted with an integrated airbag, the special tiller furthermore features two integrated steering wheel buttons. In an effort to improve rearvisibility (which likely isn’t the best thanks to that towering wing), the interior mirror has been replaced by a screen showing real-time footage.

“With the Mercedes-AMG One, we have more than pushed the envelope. The immense technical challenges of making a modern Formula 1 powertrain suitable for everyday road use have undoubtedly pushed us to our limits. Over the duration of the development period, many may have thought that the project would be impossible to implement. Nevertheless, the teams in Affalterbach and the UK never gave up and believed in themselves,” says Philipp Schiemer, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.

“I have the highest respect for all those involved and am proud of this team achievement. To put such a hypercar on wheels is certainly unique. This applies to us as Mercedes-AMG not only from a technical point of view, but also in terms of the close exchange with our loyal customers. Together with us, they have gone through ups but also downs in the course of development. They were an integral part of Project One from the very beginning and can now look forward to the highly exclusive and unique Mercedes-AMG One, which has now also been able to clear the next hurdle and passed all ECE certification tests.”

From what we understand, fewer than 300 units will be produced, each in left-hand-drive form. There is no official information on pricing from Mercedes-AMG, though as you might expect, all are reportedly already sold.