Mercedes-AMG One Takes the Nurburgring Lap Time Crown!

The Nurburgring-Nordschleife is a notorious track where cars are being put to the test on its dwindling corners and elevations. Also known as ‘The Green Hell’ – coined by Formula 1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart – the Nurburgring-Nordschleife is often used by car manufacturers to test their prototypes, and of course, to claim the bragging rights of the fastest car to go around the track.

6:35.183 min. That’s how long it took the new Mercedes-AMG One to go around the twisty and hilly corners of the 20.8 KM track. Should our in-house calculator work well, that’s about 19 seconds per KM.  Stupidly quick, is truly an understatement.

To put the Merc’s achievement to another context, the previous lap record was held by a 700 HP Porsche 911 GT2 RS laced with the Manthey Racing performance package that clocked in 6:43.3 min last year. That’s a whole seven seconds slower than the AMG One, or an eternity in the motorsport world.

Being put in charge of this record-breaking feat is Maro Engel, GT World Cup champion and long-time member of the AMG racing family. Engel noted that “in some crucial areas of the track, it hadn’t dried completely yet and was therefore tricky.” Imagine how much quicker it’ll finish on a completely dry Eifel tarmac.

The record attempt came at somewhat of a last gasp, literally minutes away from the track’s shut down time. Throughout the track, Engel managed to clock a top speed of 338 KM/H on the famous Döttinger Höhe straight.

With the AMG One housing a Formula 1-derived hybrid power unit, as well as a DRS-enabled rear wing, Engel channelled his inner Hamilton-Russell in order to break this record. Engel adds the process was definitely “not easy, especially with this length of track. In addition, the DRS function had to be used optimally, but that’s also a real Formula 1 feeling."

The Mercedes-AMG One boasts a whopping 1,049 HP of total power output, thanks to its 1.6-litre V6 ICE and quadruple (4x) electric motors, all coming straight out of Formula 1. Nought to 100 KM/H takes just 2.9 seconds for the One and flat out, it’ll hit 352 KM/H.

Whilst there are many other hypercars boasting more impressive performance numbers, what makes the One special is the implementation of Formula 1-derived tech such as active aerodynamics. This includes its massive rear wing fitted with DRS function, active front wing, fender flaps and more – all in all giving the One an edge in cutting seconds around twisty and bendy tracks like the Green Hell.

Mercedes-AMG will produce a limited run of only 275 units of the One, with deliveries already underway since August this year.