It turns out building a Formula 1 car for the road is a lot harder than bolting on a set of headlights and number plates.
Mercedes-AMG is still chipping away at the “One”, almost three years after its public debut at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show – and two years after its original on sale date.
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We were there when Lewis Hamilton unveiled a supercar with the heart of his Grand Prix machine, and Mercedes promised to build a car unlike any other.
Powered by a tiny 1.6-litre V6 engine bolstered by turbocharging and hybridisation, the Project 1 promises more than 735kW (or 1000 horsepower) for wealthy customers looking to taste the pinnacle of motorsport.
Mercedes says the road-going cousin to its championship-winning machines will hit 200km/h in less than six seconds, making it one of the fastest-accelerating cars in the world.
Just 275 examples will be built, and while eight are reportedly heading to Australia, it's unknown as to if any will land in New Zealand or not.
Mercedes originally said customers would receive cars in 2019, but the latest word is that the first production machines will be built in early 2021.
The manufacturer has just started to performance test prototypes at full power, having focused on less exciting realities such as exhaust emissions and engine noise requirements.
Even getting the Grand Prix motor to idle at a reasonable level is a challenge, as Formula 1 cars idle at 5000rpm, an unacceptable figure for road-going machines.
With that work under control, Mercedes-AMG has ramped up dynamic development of the One, promising that it will appear on the gruelling Nurburgring test circuit for publicly visible testing soon.
- News.com.au