Mercedes CEO says he ‘must have been drunk’ when he approved the AMG One Hypercar

problem Hyper Car The AMG One caused a lot of trouble for Mercedes. Initially scheduled for release in 2019, the model has not yet reached dealerships until today A problem that the German automaker may have underestimated: Adaptation of a power unit designed for single seats — in this case, Formula 1 — in street style. The brand’s own CEO, Ola Kallenius, joked about the launch delay last Thursday (19), during a conversation with investors, saying he must have been “drunk” when he approved the project.

“About four years ago, the AMG team and the Formula 1 powertrain department came to us and said ‘We have a great idea, let’s put the Formula 1 engine in a road car.’ When asked about the launch date of the supercar, Kallenius joked that I should go back to check the minutes of the meeting. , but I’m sure we were drunk when we said yes.

publicity celebrity

The Mercedes-AMG One uses a V6 1.6 Hybrid engine adapted from the car that won the constructors’ championship in it Formula 1 In 2017. With all-wheel drive, it was originally slated to roll out in early 2019. For now, it still doesn’t have an exact launch date — although the company says it will release news about the model “in a few weeks.” . The car has a power of 1000 horsepower, a top speed of 350 km / h and accelerates from 0 to 200 km / h in just 6 seconds.

The documentary will present the history of the project

Mercedes is also promising to release a “very honest” documentary about the supercar’s progress, marketing director Bettina Fetzer announced at the same investor event in Monaco.

The German automaker should take inspiration from the successful “Drive to Survive” series, The reality show Formula 1 on Netflix, to turn off the feature. Executives are betting on an approach that demonstrates the difficult task of adapting a single-seater engine for a street car, perhaps to lighten the narrow skirt for delays in launch and brand image.

Last year, Mercedes said that production of 275 units of the AMG One would begin in 2022, and that each was sold at a price of 2.27 million euros (about 11.6 million R$). According to Kallenius, this will be a way of connecting the company’s activities in Formula 1 to its road cars. “This shows that our participation in Formula 1 has a direct impact on the AMG brand,” he said.

Main image credit: Mercedes-Benz / Disclosure (AMG One design in detail)

Read more:

Have you seen our new videos on Youtube? Subscribe to our channel!