Mercedes-AMG Project One To Have Almost 700 Kg Of Downforce

Mercedes-AMG has suggested that its Project One hypercar will deliver almost 700 kg (1,543 lbs) of downforce, the most of any road-going car from the automaker.

During a recent discussion with Autocar, Mercedes-AMG boss Tobias Moers said peak downforce will be roughly half the weight of the car. With the car set to weight between 1300 kg and 1400 kg (2,866 – 3,086 lbs), that puts downforce in the region of 650 kg and 700 kg (1,433 – 1,543 lbs).

To put that into perspective, the track-focused McLaren P1 GTR delivers 660 kg (1,455 lbs) of downforce at 150 mph. Unlike the British hypercar, the Project One is free of any particularly wild fixed wings or splitters. When it hits the market, the Project One won’t lead the downforce race, however. For example, the McLaren Senna has already been confirmed to produce 800 kg (1,763 lbs) of downforce.

Both of these pale in comparison to the Aston Martin Valkyrie. Thanks to its use of underfloor aerodynamics, it may have up to 1800 kg (roughly 4,000 lbs) of downforce.

Powering the Mercedes-AMG Project One is the 1.6-liter V6 hybrid engine from the Mercedes Formula One car. Tweaked to run smoothly on the road, it will deliver between 1000 hp and 1100 hp. If Mercedes takes the car to the Nurburgring, it should comfortably eclipse the 6 min 47 sec lap time of the Porsche 911 GT2 RS.