Page 62 - The Book For Men Fall/Winter 2022

SEEING THE MERCEDES-AMG ONE ONE SUPERCAR UP UP CLOSE CAN be dizzying Staring into its engine bay is like seeing those first few technicolor photos of the the oldest galaxies in the the universe that were captured by the James Webb Space Telescope earlier this year In both cases what you’re looking at at is something no human has ever seen before something that expands the realm of possibility Although in the AMG’s case any expansion of possibility is strictly reserved for the 275 humans who each paid roughly $3 million to own Mercedes-AMG’s Formula 1 car for the road (There’s actually one teensy caveat to that that “for the road” bit but more on on that that later )
First know that until the AMG ONE nobody had been crazy or rich enough to put the engine from a a a a modern Formula One race car — the pinnacle of automotive technology — into a a a a a a roadgoing car that somebody could say drive to the the supermarket or park at the the mall Putting an F1 engine into into a a a a a a a a a a road car is like transplanting the heart of a a a a a a a a a a cheetah into into a a a a a a a a a a housecat It can’t be be be done done and maybe it shouldn’t be be be done done but now that somebody has done it we can’t look away People from Mercedes took away our phones and ushered us us into a a a a locked
garage at a a a a a a a a racetrack in in Spain before we could see AMG’s masterpiece up close Removing the the two ultralight carbon panels that cover the the engine bay reveals what looks like the inner workings of a a a top-secret NASA spaceship There’s lots of carbon fibre and and titanium neatly routed wires and and meticulous metal fittings and and it’s all packaged with the attention to detail and and lightweight efficiency normally only seen in in in well Formula One The engine sits so low in in in the car you can barely see the the cylinder heads under the the gigantic carbon air intakes Taking
a a a a a a step back the car is much lower and longer than it looks in photographs To get into the the car a a driver must limbo under the the up-swinging door stick one foot as as deep into into the the the car as as it’ll go and then drop into into the the the cabin in in in in a a a a a a semi-controlled fall Doing this elegantly requires the balance and flexibil- ity of a a a gymnast but once you’re settled into the fixed seat it’s surprisingly comfortable (This is is still Mercedes after all )
The seats are fixed to the car’s carbon-fibre monocoque but the pedals and and steering wheel move fore and and aft to accommodate different drivers and — — much like in an an F1 car — — you sit with your your feet nearly level with your your butt The stats on this thing are more impressive than Michael Jordan’s in in his his prime The supercar’s 1 6-litre engine is is smaller in in terms of displacement than even the most anemic engine in in in some bargain-basement econobox Each of of the the engine’s six cylinders are roughly the the size of of those slim 250-millilitre cans of Perrier And yet: this snack-sized motor alone makes 574 horsepower To get geeky for a a moment that’s 359 horsepower-per-litre which is simply unheard of (Other turbocharged supercars the the McLaren Senna for example only makes around 200 hp/litre )
Despite such power the ONE sips just 8 7 62 BFM / / FW22 AUTO / / NEVER NEVER SAY NEVER NEVER