Less than five months have lasted the Porsche 911 GT2 RS its record at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (6:43.300). The new king of the Green Hell is the Mercedes-AMG ONE, the wildest and most radical hybrid not only from Mercedes but also from the market. With Maro Engel at the controls, the Mercedes-AMG ONE has pulverized the previous record, and in Mercedes, you assure that they could lower it even more.
The Mercedes-AMG ONE is now the fastest registrable (i.e. legal to drive on public roads) car in the world on the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit. Mercedes’ hybrid hypercar managed to lap the 20.832-kilometer circuit in a time of 6:35.183 minutes, despite less-than-ideal track conditions.
Barely half a minute before the access to the track closed, Maro Engel, AMG’s official driver in the DTM, decided to go out and try one last time because he believed he could lower the time he had done in previous laps. The best thing is that he had already managed to break the Porsche record, but Engel was confident that he could lower the mark a little more. Sure enough, on his last lap, he set the current record at the Nürburgring for a series production road car.
On the street, yes, because it can be registered, it is perfectly homologated. But the AMG ONE is not the typical car you will find on the road. Its hybrid system derives directly from Formula 1 of the Mercedes team: it has a small V6 thermal engine with 1.6 liters and an electric turbo, capable of reaching 11,000 revolutions per minute. And it also has four electric motors. Between the five engines, the hybrid system offers a total of 782 kW of power (1,063 hp).
To this must be added brutal active aerodynamics with DRS included, push-rod suspensions, ceramic brakes, monocoque, and carbon fiber bodywork, and AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive. A spectacular combination but that is neither more nor less than the series car. Mercedes-AMG took two units of the ONE to the Ring and both vehicles were inspected by TÜV Rheinland to guarantee that they were exactly like the production ones, notarized, including the tires (Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R MO).
Despite the record, they did not have them all with them. The asphalt was wet in some areas of the track, quite dirty in others, and at a temperature of around 20º C, colder than would be ideal to get the best grip. They only did four fastest laps in conditions they considered favorable, although Mercedes say they could cut the time even further in ideal conditions.
Maro Engel selected the “Race Plus” driving mode for his fastest laps. Active aerodynamics in “maximum attack” mode, suspension 37 mm lower on the front axle and 30 mm lower on the rear axle, and, of course, maximum power from all engines. The DRS system is activated by the driver by pressing a button on the steering wheel (although if the system detects a deceleration or a certain degree of lateral acceleration, the aerodynamic elements re-extend in an instant).
And, similar to the Formula 1 drivers during the race, Maro Engel had to manage the energy of the hybrid system, that is, he could not accelerate to the maximum possible whenever he wanted. This management is not an easy task given the length of the circuit. Even so, on the Döttinger Höhe straight, the battery still offered power, reaching a top speed of 338 km/h.
