8:21 am, August 11, 2022
Mercedes-AMG has finally begun production of its long-awaited ‘One’ hypercar at an all-new facility in the West Midlands.
The German outfit is building the limited-edition model in Coventry, with all 275 examples already sold out, despite an eye-watering £2m price tag.
The One was first shown as a concept in 2017 but has since been plagued by development delays due to the complexity of using a powertrain similar to that of Formula 1 cars in a road-going model.
The production version was finally shown in June and the first customer models are going through the building process.
Mercedes says the AMG One is a true ‘UK-built’ car after the firm outsourced overall production to Multimatic, which is behind the manufacturing of models such as the latest Ford GT and Aston Martin’s Vanquish Zagato.
Manufacturing – which will take place at a new, small, dedicated facility in Coventry – will be split into 16 main stations, such as test runs of the engine and motors, a ‘Monsoon rain test’ and installing the interior.
One of the most challenging aspects of production is said to be the carbon monocoque, which is as thin as 1.2mm in some places.
Mercedes says more than 50 people work on each AMG One, with the final stage of production being testing at a nearby proving ground.
Once signed off, each car returns to Mercedes-AMG’s base in Affalterbach, Germany, where it will be handed over to customers. The first of these handovers is expected before the end of the year.
Nothing better than experiencing a drive with our Mercedes-AMG ONE. #MercedesAMG #ONE
[Mercedes-AMG ONE | WLTP: Stromverbrauch kombiniert: 32 kWh/100 km | Kraftstoffverbrauch kombiniert: 8,7 l/100 km | CO₂-Emissionen kombiniert: 198 g/km | https://t.co/ye4fweSJ4V] pic.twitter.com/dyQN2fJe5C
— Mercedes-AMG (@MercedesAMG) August 8, 2022
Philipp Schiemer, chairman of Mercedes-AMG, said: ‘The Mercedes-AMG One is the most ambitious project we have ever undertaken – from development to production. The production of the exclusive small series is a truly unique challenge.
‘For the first time, the hypercar brings current Formula 1 hybrid technology almost one-to-one from the race track to the road and combines overwhelming performance with exemplary efficiency.
‘We as a whole team are very proud to have started production of the first customer vehicles.’
The One’s powertrain develops a huge 1,049bhp and is able to rev up to 11,000rpm, reaching 0-60mph in under three seconds.
With a top speed of 219mph, it’s also the fastest road-going Mercedes to date.
