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Feann Torr3 Apr 2017
NEWS

AMG Project One to get unorthodox doors

Gullwing doors looking more than likely for F1-engined extreme AMG road car

The AMG Project One hypercar is expected to steal the limelight when it premieres at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show in mid-September, and not just because of its Formula 1-derived engine.

Blending F1-influenced aerodynamics with body sculpting that recalls Silver Arrows F1 cars through the ages, Project One's exterior design has been revealed only in the form of a couple of heavily stylised sketches so far.

But Mercedes-Benz head of design, Gorden Wagener, has helped motoring.com.au paint a better picture of what to expect – including the fitment of unorthodox car doors.

"We will have, let's see, not regular doors!" smiled the Benz design boss.

Does that mean gullwing doors? Almost certainly.

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Mercedes has form with gullwing doors, which were seen on the discontinued SLS AMG Coupe and the classic 300 SL from 1955, but the other unconventional option is a dihedral door design, which McLaren lays claim to.

"It will carry a lot of the DNA of Mercedes race cars, even the old Silver Arrows, which have been always very voluptuous," explained Wagener.

"We have great cars like the GT but this [Project One] is very special. Of course it will be stunning and radical. We showed the teaser, so you can get an idea about the design language and stuff, but it will stick to our sensual purity language but in a very extreme way, in very extreme proportions.

"It's a car like no other, a car like that only happens every 50 years so. It's a great and very special moment in time."

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Stuttgart's chief designer confirmed there will be "lots of parts on the exterior from Formula 1 racing," which will aid the road-legal missile to reach a top speed expected to be in excess of 350km/h.

Powered by a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol V6 based on the engine that powers Lewis Hamilton's F1 race car, Project One will bang out around 1000hp or 745kW. The 0-100km/h sprint will be irrelevant, with 0-200km/h being a truer measure of its dynamic ability.

Spinning to a shrieking 11,000rpm, the V6 will be paired with twin electric motors at the front of the car, each worth 120kW. The gearbox is an automated manual unit, and together with the powertrain is a stressed member of the chassis. The only problem with such a highly-strung powertrain is that it's only good for 50,000km.

Aero exterior, minimalistic no-BS interior
The cabin of the new AMG Project One will make jaws drop too, insists Hartmut Sinkwitz, head of interior design at Mercedes-Benz.

Expect hand-crafted finishes here and there but simplicity is the name of the game for the hypercar. If it doesn't serve a purpose, it's been ditched.

"The interior is unbelievable. It's compact, it's radical, seating position right on the ground - and the seating arrangement is almost part of the structure of the cabin," said Sinkwitz, hinting at more unconventional design and engineering solutions.

"Personally I'm a big fan of that seating arrangement. The whole thing is very racy. First of all [it must be a] perfect interior for the racetrack.

"And no bullshit, no styling for the sake of it," added the designer. "Purely simplicity and reduction and that's about it."

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It won't get a flashy infotainment system like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and its twin high-definition widescreens, "But there will be enough space for screens," said the chief interior designer.

How about a screen inside the steering then?

"Maybe yes, maybe no. I won't tell you!" the designer laughed, but conceded "It will be a racy concept and a racy steering wheel."

Sinkwitz said there would be another strong link between the yet-to-be-named hypercar and Mercedes-AMG's F1 exploits.

"It's going to be extremely noisy!" he said.

He confirmed that when the concept version debuts at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show, customers and perhaps a few well-connected automotive execs will get the chance to experience it.

"Yes, you can sit in it. I think it will be drivable maybe too," he said of the AMG Project One show car.

So how much is Benz charging for its F1-engined hypercar? It's asking €2.27 million, which is about $3.2 million in local tender… but the final price will likely be higher than that in most cases when local taxes and other associated costs are added.

Just 275 units will be made and there are already 10 orders for the vehicle in Australia, despite the fact it will be left-hand drive only.

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