Mercedes-AMG bosses have confirmed on the eve of the Paris Motor Show that development is underway on a McLaren P1 rivaling hybrid hypercar. A teaser image was flashed up during an official announcement, where Mercedes R&D boss Dr. Prof Thomas Webber confirmed the car would use the hybrid powertrain from Mercedes’s current Formula 1 cars.
Expected to be revealed next year, the hypercar will be built mark the 50th anniversary of AMG and is expected to be produced in very limited numbers. Bosses let slip that the time between now and first customers receiving cars is around two and half years.
Ola Källenius, Mercedes Sales and Marketing, boss told Auto Express: “We have started development on this car and what is going to be absolutely unique about it, which nobody has ever done and very are capable of doing, we are going to take the F1 powertrain and put it in a road car.”
The hypercar will be powered by a version of the 1.6-litre V6 turbo engine fitted to Mercdes-AMG’s current F1 cars. The capacity of the engine could be increased as motorsport regulations won’t apply, while the addition of an KERS energy-recovery system could see power rise beyond 1,000bhp.
Tobias Moers, Chairman of AMG, told Auto Express power would have to be dropped compared to the F1 car but combined horsepower output would still be in four figures. The AMG boss also confirmed that carbon fibre will be extensively used for the body and chassis.
“As we said in the past, as soon as AMG steps into a new segment we have a very clear expectation. Our target is to have the most efficient, not necessarily the most powerful, hypercar on the market with outstanding driving capability,” Moers told us.
Development of the car is a joint project between AMG in Affalterbach and the team in Brixworth, Northampton who are responsible for the F1 car’s high performance powertrains.
Can the Mercedes-AMG hypercar beat Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche? Give us your view in the comments…
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