The most insane AMG entitled to wear a plate is back at the Nurburgring Nordschleife for additional testing. Two distinct examples of the breed are featured in the spy video below, joined by Mercedes-AMG and Multimatic personnel.
Why Multimatic? Because AMG's craziest road-going car yet is assembled in the United Kingdom with help from the company that previously assembled the second-gen Ford GT in Canada. Why the United Kingdom and not Canada where Multimatic is based? The answer is Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains of Brixworth, namely the company that makes Formula 1 hybrid 1.6-liter turbo V6 power units for the ONE and Mercedes' Formula 1 team.
Don't ask why Mercedes AMG and High Performance aren't hyphenated. Set up by the German automaker with assistance from Multimatic, the Coventry-based facility is where ONEs come to life by hand rather than machine. No more than 275 units will be produced, with each and every single one of them having to go through 16 assembly and testing stations.
After completion, each vehicle is tested at an adjacent proving ground by a factory test driver. It's only then that ONEs receive the green light for shipping to dealers for customer delivery. That said, why is the ONE being tested at the Nurburgring by AMG and Multimatic? The carparazzi don't really have a clue, and neither do we. As you can tell, both specimens appear to feature the very same wheels, rubber, and active aero trickery as the standard specification.
On the other hand, remember the second-gen Ford GT? Model years 2017 through 2019 feature a 647-horsepower version of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost twin-turbo V6, whereas 2020 through 2022 models produce 660 horsepower. Beyond the six-pot mill's 13 additional stallions, Ford also made hardware and software revisions.
Photo: CarSpyMedia on YouTube
In addition to higher-energy ignition coils, the sixer also received gallery-cooled pistons and a different ECU calibration for a broader torque band. Cooling and airflow updates include new buttress air ducts and larger intercoolers. Ford Motor Company further sweetened the deal for model year 2020 with increased suspension damping in track mode. Finally, a titanium exhaust from Akrapovic became standard.
Given the aforementioned, chances are that AMG and Multimatic are working on an update or a go-faster package for the ONE. If that's the case, only time will tell when said update/package will go live. In the meantime, let's refresh our memories with some highlight numbers for the ONE.
It all starts with 1.6 liters of turbocharged V6 magic, followed by an MGU-H, an MGU-K, and two electric motors for the front axle. Combined output? Make that 1,063 pferdestarke or 1,049 horsepower, of which the internal combustion engine's horses are channeled to the rear wheels by a single-clutch automated manual tranny.
Why a single-clutch box and not a dual-clutch design? That would be weight and the dual-clutch unit would have had trouble keeping up with the high-revving engine. 11,000 rpm is ridiculous even by Porsche 911 GT3 standards, but not ridiculous enough because the Aston Martin Valkyrie has 100 more revs to play with. The Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 is spicier still, being rated at 12,100 revolutions per minute.
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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