Codenamed R50 and previewed by the Project One concept, AMG's most ludicrous car yet is a very special thing. Not because it's produced in the United Kingdom rather than Germany. There is a precedent in this regard with the SLR McLaren, which came from McLaren in Woking.
The Formula 1 turbo hybrid power unit mounted in the middle is the special sauce. Although it's a different animal from the W15 E Performance of Lewis and George, this fellow is definitely closer to the F1 driving experience than Ferrari's F50. As a brief refresher, the F40-replacing bruiser is powered by a 4.7-liter V12 developed from the 3.5-liter V12 of the highly competitive 641 raced by Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell back in 1990.
Michael Spegel, a.k.a. Gercollector, has recently taken a fine-looking ONE for a drive on the Autobahn to see if the hype is real. And oh boy, it sure ticks all the right boxes! With little in the way of effort from the plug-in hybrid 1.6-liter turbo V6 setup, the all-paw-drive land missile gets close to its top end like it's no big deal. The instrument cluster indicated 347 kilometers per hour in sixth gear, meaning 216 miles per hour in the US of A.
AMG quotes 352 kph (219 mph) as the maximum speed, which puts the high-revving machine up there with the very best of the midship world. Bear in mind the ONE wasn't developed for outright speed à la Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ and company, but for exquisite handling and a driving experience that cannot be reproduced.
With Maro Engel behind the wheel and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires, the ONE clocked a staggering 6:30.705 at the Nurburgring back in October 2022. As you're well aware, October in Germany isn't exactly the best month for trying to break lap records at the Green Heel. But Maro did it, besting the Manthey-tuned 991.2 Porsche 911 GT2 RS by a little over eight seconds. For the full 20.8-kilometer lap, the official time is 6:35.183.
Photo: Gercollector on YouTube
As you might have noticed in Gercollector's video, the six-pot bruiser likes to rev crazy. 11,000 revolutions per minute is the declared redline, although we do know that Formula 1 hybrid power units are limited to 15,000 revolutions per minute. In the good ol' days of the unassisted V10, those Formula 1 powerplants could hit around 20,000 revolutions per minute.
As for the biggest screamer of the bunch in the world of road-legal cars, that would be Gordon Murray's fantabulous T.50 fan car. The limited-run supercar is much obliged to sing the song of its people to the tune of 12,100 revolutions per minute, all while giving the driver additional enjoyment by means of a slick-shifting manual.
The Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 features a Cosworth-developed V12 shared with the T.33, which is limited to 11,100 revs to reflect its place in the GMA hierarchy. Cosworth also produces the 11,100-rpm V12 of the Aston Martin Valkyrie, a car that wouldn't have been possible without input from Red Bull's Adrian Newey.
That being said, it's amazing how many jaw-dropping supercars and hypercars came out in the last years. Unfortunately, this monumental era will slowly but surely come to a conclusion due to emission, fuel economy, and those pesky vehicle noise regulations to boot.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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