The Mercedes-AMG Project One Test Mule Looks Like A Badass

We may have first seen the Mercedes-AMG Project One at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, but the car you see here isn’t quite the same thing. The machine revealed last year was a concept show car, but now Mercedes has published pictures of the real deal.

Well, almost: it’s a camouflaged prototype, but this is a significant step, as it shows AMG has deployed modern Formula 1 powertrain technology on the road. The team behind the car managed to do this following a “highly complex, digital development process.”

The powertrain has also undergone hundreds of hours of dyno sessions at Mercedes’ engine testing facility in Brixworth, Britain, which simulated high-speed laps of some of the world’s most challenging race tracks.

Testing of the complete prototype also took place in England, at a “secret test ground”. Judging by these images, we reckon it’s Millbrook, a popular site for manufacturers wanting to test new products. “Because of their specific and very characteristic F1 sound they [the prototypes] are hard to keep from the public,” Mercedes said.

Mercedes has released plenty of Project One figures before, though. That 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid powertrain develops 1007bhp, propelling around 1300kg of car. It’ll do 0-124mph in just six seconds, and while it won’t rev up to the 15,000rpm limits usually found on modern F1 cars, it will still hit an impressive 11,000rpm.