Mercedes Reveals Formula 1 Technology For The Road In Project One Hypercar

At the Frankfurt Motor Show last month, Mercedes Benz put on one of the most extravagant and entertaining stage shows ever seen at an international automotive event. After a jazz-funk band warmed up the 3,000-plus audience, Broadway singers – yes, from New York City’s Broadway! – appeared on stage using their substantial vocal ranges, unmistakable stage presence, and catchy tunes to introduce Mercedes’ futuristic view of a greener world inhabited by clean hybrid and electric vehicles.

The highlight of this remarkable ensemble happened when three-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton drove the Mercedes-AMG Project One hypercar concept on stage to a waiting Dieter Zetsche, Daimler’s charismatic CEO. As Hamilton got out of the car, he said, “that was more nerve-wracking than driving the real F1 car.”

Now while there was some level of lip service in that comment, he was actually part of the development team of a supercar that borrows technology directly from F1. This car rewrites history. The Project One is a true watershed moment as it becomes the first ever road-legal car to employ a Formula 1 engine, a powerplant that will be built in the same factory, right next to the engine that powers Hamilton’s F1 car.

But for longevity and commercial viability, according to Mercedes at least, the Project One will get a down-tuned version of the F1’s turbocharged 1.6-liter V6 hybrid generating upwards of 700 horsepower. The One gets another 500 hp from three electric motors, one on each front wheel, the third integrated into the engine. Total power is “over 1100hp,” says Mercedes. A fourth motor turns the turbocharger to ensure that you always have instant power. This engine will spin to 11,000 rpm which is down from the 15,000 max reached by the Petronas F1 car, enabling the car to reach speeds of 350 km/h.

As one would expect in high-performance hypercars of tomorrow, the Project One also gets a precision 4WD setup with torque vectoring system that channels torque to any given wheel enabling greater grip and stability in corners. Mercedes tells us that it will make only 275 of these cars. But don’t worry about checking your bank account because all 275 have already been sold.

So why does this $2.8 million car matter? Because as Mercedes calls it, “Project One: Formula 1 technology for the road.” That’s right – the plan is to feedback some of this hypercar’s technology to stock standard road-going cars for the masses. In addition to the safety systems like torque vectoring and impact absorbing lightweight materials – carbon fiber, aluminum etc – fitted to the car that will filter down to production cars, it is the technology employed in the compact, fuel efficient, high-performance engine that will be most desired by motorists.

Imagine a 400hp E-Class propelled by a 1.2-liter hybrid that achieves over 50mpg. That’s the kind of advancement the Project One promises in the very near future, according to Mercedes.