At last, the eagerly anticipated Mercedes-AMG One is almost prepared for delivery to its fortunate customers, a total of 275 lucky individuals who will have the privilege of owning this exclusive vehicle. However, there appears to be a minor setback as a number of these road-legal F1-powered supercars have been pre-ordered by clientele in the United States, presenting a significant dilemma. The AMG One will not meet the street-legal requirements in the US, as management in Affalterbach has decided against adjusting the hybrid V6 to comply with American regulations due to the potential negative impact it could have on the performance of this PHEV. Mercedes simply decided not to proceed in that direction.
Nonetheless, I was informed of a potential workaround – it is possible to import the car under the ‘show or display’ legislation. This provision would limit the vehicle’s annual mileage to no more than 2,500 miles (or 4,023 km), but would allow for legal driving of the Mercedes-AMG One hypercar on US roads, albeit with certain restrictions. However, it is not as straightforward as it may seem; one must engage in a private party import process and request for an exception which mandates that the car in question is deemed ‘historically or technologically significant’. This condition also extends to vehicles produced in restricted quantities, with the apparent limit being set at 500 units. Furthermore, the process is said to be quite costly. Once an individual has obtained approval under these conditions, others will be able to import the same car under the initial ruling. It remains to be seen who will be daring enough to navigate through this procedure.
The Mercedes-AMG One is propelled by a Formula One-inspired 1.6-Liter turbocharged V6 engine (reportedly from the 2015-2016 era) capable of reaching 11,000 rpm. With the combined force of the four extra electric motors, the vehicle boasts a total power output of 1,063 hp. This is all brought to bear on a car weighing 1,695 kg, resulting in a highly favorable power-to-weight ratio. While it may not match the Koenigsegg 1:1, it is nonetheless an impressive feat. As an interesting aside, the relatively compact 1.6-Liter engine alone generates 574 hp at 9,000 rpm. Acceleration data indicates the car can reach 60 mph from a standstill in just 2.8 seconds, and within a mere 7 seconds, the speedometer will read 200 mph, all while seated behind the low-profile F1-style steering wheel.
Enough with the technical specifics and intricacies; let’s turn our attention to some footage of individuals piloting the Mercedes-AMG One on the renowned Nurburgring circuit in Germany. The first video is a fascinating glimpse from Top Gear showcasing Chris Harris as he takes the new, multi-million hypercar from Affalterbach for a spin:
Image Source: HT Auto
