2018 Mercedes-AMG Project One powertrain specs exposed
The fresh £2.Four million Mercedes-AMG hypercar, known under the internal working name Project One, will be powered by an advanced petrol-electric butt-plug in hybrid drivetrain based around an Formula One derived petrol engine that operates in combination with four electrical motors to supply an overall output of over 736kW in its most spectacle orientated driving mode, AMG boss Tobias Moers has confirmed.
The hi-tech driveline, unveiled at a media event at the Nürburgring twenty four Hour race in Germany, uses a strongly revised version of the electrically turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 housed in the Mercedes-AMG W08 EQ Power+ race car, as driven by Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas in the two thousand seventeen F1 World Championship.
Like the German car maker’s latest F1 race car, the upcoming four-wheel drive AMG road car also features both an MGU-K (motor generation unit – kinetic) and MGU-H (motor generation unit-heat) functions as part of a sophisticated Energy Recovery System (ERS) mounted around the mid-mounted petrol engine at the rear.
The former, developing 100kW, acts as an electrical motor under acceleration and a generator to recuperate kinetic energy under braking, with the latter rated at 80kW used to electrically power the petrol engine’s turbocharger for instant response as well as to convert warmth from the turbocharger into electrical energy for storage in the fresh car’s sophisticated battery.
Together, the combustion engine and the rear-mounted electrified motors provide drive exclusively to the rear wheels.
Channelling the Project One’s heady reserves is a an eight speed automated manual gearbox that acts as a structural bearing element within the driveline at the rear of the engine, where it supports an intricate five-link rear suspension featuring pushrod style spring and damper units.
In a departure from the German car maker’s rear-wheel drive F1 race car, the fresh headlining AMG model’s front wheels can be driven individually by two electrical motors and a pair of stationary ratio gearboxes mounted within the front axle assembly with torque distributed selectively to the wheel with the most grip – a layout mirroring that of the earlier unspoiled electrified Mercedes-AMG SLS Electrified Drive to provide the Project One four-wheel drive capability. Called AMG Toque Dynamics, the electronically control system mimics the rear wheel torque vectoring effect seen on other less extreme four-wheel drive AMG models.
The two front mounted electrical motors produce a combined 240kW exclusively to the front wheels, providing the Project One with a claimed range of up to 25km in unspoiled electrified mode, according to Moers. When required the MGU-K can also provide electrified drive to the rear wheels, essentially endowing it with unspoiled electrical four-wheel drive capability.
The battery used to power the Project One’s four electrical motors is based on the same lithium ion cell technology found in the Mercedes-Benz F1 racer. Boasting four time the energy density as the battery used in the race car, it is mounted low towards the front of the floor structure, providing it a favourable front-to-rear weight distribution and low centre of gravity.
All up, the advanced fresh plug-in hybrid system is claimed to weigh 420kg, with the batteries adding a further 100kg. Moers is tightlipped on the Project One’s overall kerb weight but admits earlier claims suggesting it will peak the scales under 1000kg are premature. “There are a lot of regulatory factors to consider. We have to build in all the safety features, including crash structures,” he says.
Engineering for the Mercedes-AMG hypercar is being carried out in a joint program inbetween AMG in Affalterbach, Germany and its High Spectacle Powertrain sister company located in Brixworth, England.
At the unveiling of the fresh car’s drivetrain at the Nurburgring twenty four hour race in Germany, Moers claimed it achieves a thermal efficiency of forty three per cent. By comparison, the thermal efficiency of AMG’s existing twin-turbocharged Four.0-litre V8 is put at 25%.
The production version of the Project One is planned to be unveiled at the Frankfurt motor showcase in September before a commence to deliveries in late 2018.
Moers says AMG is developing a special progam to support buyer’s of the Project One, tho’ he suggests the fresh car will not be as difficult to drive as many anticipate.
“Because of the F1 derived technology used by the fresh car, prospective buyers have been asking if they will require a support squad or dedicated lubricants to run it. My response is always no. It will be a street car. You keep it plugged in in the garage. You pack it with fuel. That’s it.”
Formula one engine and tech
Talking about the F1-derived powertrain, Moers told Autocar: “We have to switch something for sure. 3500-4000 revs is not that superb for the road.” He added: “The crimson line is over Ten,000 even in the street legal car.” In fact, Moers has since confirmed that the Project One will be able to rev to 11,000rpm.
Moers has previously talked about using the F1 powertrain: “Our F1 engine is far more durable than many people expect, and if you look at the geyser it must take in an F1 race compared to how it’s likely to be used in a street-legal machine, you can see it’s going to have a lot less work to do.” The unit is expected to have more power than that used in an F1 car.
The hypercar’s MGU-K converts mechanical and fever energy into electrical energy that can be stored for later deployment, and the MGU-H that takes fever from the harass and uses it to create electrical energy.
It is as yet unknown how the engine will be made emissions-compliant. The car will uses an automated manual transmission as an F1 transmission would need to be strongly adapted to suit a roadgoing application. “I can tell you we will be using an ‘AMT’ (automated manual transmission) because there’s no twin-clutch gearbox capable of working with an engine that revs to 11,000rpm,” said Moers. “We will have four electrical motors – one for each front wheel, one on the crankshaft and one on the engine turbocharger. We will use the same ‘perfomance’ battery cells as the F1 cars, which have advantages and limitations; but we will still be able to produce 30km of EV range. And our target for kerbweight is 1300kg ‘DIN'”
Moers has previously confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will join the team of development drivers testing prototypes of the car, but only “when the time is right”.
Mercedes board member Ola Källenius has said the powertrain should be “unique” in the market. At the time, he emphasised that despite its xxx nature, the car will be able to be driven on the road and will not be a track-only special edition.
Moers said the design target for the hypercar was to create “the most efficient hypercar with an outstanding driving dynamic capability, not necessarily the most powerful”. When asked what he meant by ‘efficient’, Moers simply replied: “In every respect”, which indicates an unprecedented combination of power, light weight and low fuel consumption.
Having already confirmed a headline power target for ‘Project One’ of 1000bhp, Mercedes-AMG should therefore be ripping off the hypercar into the market with a 770bhp-per-tonne power-to-weight ratio. That’s enough to narrowly strike the equivalent figure of the fresh Bugatti Chiron, albeit it does menace to leave the AMG a little adrift of the car that must be imagined as its closest rival – the Aston Martin Valkyrie – whose 900bhp hybrid V12 powertrain is expect to motivate a car weighing less than a tonne overall. It remains to be seen how much torque either the Mercedes-AMG or the Aston Martin will produce, of course.
Moers is not ready yet to talk about acceleration targets for the car, but he did hint at top speed potential. “This will not be a top speed car,” he said. “We will certainly be beyond 350kmh (217mph) but to go far beyond that brings too much compromise for me: to tyres, to aero & to treating balance.”
The Mercedes-AMG hypercar was originally confirmed by the company’s head of research and development, Thomas Weber on the eve of the Paris motor demonstrate in late September 2016.
“I am very excited to officially confirm: our next big thing at AMG is already in the pipeline,” said Weber. “We are going to create an AMG spectacle hybrid featuring our Formula one drivetrain technology. Under the lead of AMG, our spectacle companies will join compels and create the most efficient and, at the same time, the best-performing and most spectacular AMG of all time; some might even call it a hypercar.
“But no matter what you call it, it will certainly demonstrate how we will take our spectacle brand into the future with enormously efficient and intelligent drivetrain technology. Of course, there will be no compromises in terms of the emotional appeal of this car.”
Additonal reporting by Rachel Burgess
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