Behold the Face of Mercedes-AMG’s 218-MPH Project One Hypercar
It’s masked in shadow, but it’s still our best look yet.
Of all the many, many cars Daimler has in the pipeline for the near future, none seems quite as likely to set the hearts of gearheads aflutter like the upcoming Mercedes-AMG Project One hypercar. In a move unprecedented in modern times, the sports car will be powered by a version of a Formula One engine; specifically, the hybrid turbocharged V6 from the Mercedes-AMG W07 F1 race car. In production car form, the engine will rev to around 11,000 rpm, enabling it to crank out 748 horsepower; combine that with the output of no fewer than four electric motors, and the car will make in excess of 1,000 horsepower overall. The car will come in at $2.4 million; in spite of this, pretty much all 275 examples are reportedly spoken for.
And while Mercedes has been teasing us with a steady trickle of details and teasers about it for more than a year now, it seems the dam is about to burst. Daimler will unveil the Project One at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week. And to whet our collective whistles in the meantime, the carmaker has released our first look at the car's front end.
Granted, the car in the image is cloaked in more shadow than Batman on a cloudy night, but it's still our best peek at the face of the new speed machine. As you'd expect, it's a wide, low-slung thing; the headlamps have a hint of the Bugatti Chiron to them, while the giant fender flares, narrow cockpit, and roof-mounted air intake give the front-on view a slight resemblance to the McLaren F1.
The Project One likely won't be able to keep up with either of those supercars on a max-velocity run; Mercedes-AMG says the car will have a top speed "exceeding 350 km/h," or 218 miles per hour. Even if it only tops out at 218.1, though, the Project One's bleeding-edge powertrain and technology mean it'll likely wipe the floor with both of them—as well as almost every other hypercar—around the likes of an F1 track.
