The Mercedes-AMG One has broken its own Nürburgring record by six seconds

3 October, 2024

Nürburgring record broken by six seconds

Cue your best Michael Buffer voice. Because the Mercedes-AMG One… is still the fastest production car to race around the Nürburgring.

AMG has today confirmed the 1,049bhp hybrid hypercar managed to beat its own record set back in 2022 by over six seconds, which makes a ridiculously fast lap time even more ridiculously fast.

So where in 2022 it recorded a lap time of 6m 35.183s around the 20.8km circuit, in 2024, with Maro Engel strapped onboard, the AMG One clocked a time of 6m 29.090s. The original time was already seven seconds faster than the 911 GT2 RS Manthey-pack car, not that context is required here. That’s supersonic.

“Two years ago, the conditions were not ideal, and some sections of the track were still a little damp,” said Engel. “We knew we could do more, and we wanted to show that. Today we were able to demonstrate the maximum potential of the AMG One.”

Indeed, AMG waited for the track conditions to be perfect (15 degrees C for the air temp, 20 degrees C for the track temp) for better grip. And Engel – like Hamilton and Russell in the Proper F1 car – had to manage the 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid system (that includes four electric motors) to get the best out of it.

Which apparently meant a wee bit of lift und coast to prep the drivetrain. For the record run – performed on 23 September at the third time of asking – Engel pushed the ‘Give Me Everything’ button (‘Race Plus’). That drops the ride height, engages max aero, full power, a smidge of DRS and a fair bit of black magic.

Of course the AMG One is full of the stuff. Its supernaturally complex drivetrain is handed straight down from F1, and features combustion, electricity, turbocharging, harvesting, and all manner of computations going on.

“We’ve held the record for road vehicles for almost two years now,” said AMG boss Michael Schiebe. “But at AMG, we always want to push the boundaries of what is possible to the maximum or even push them a little further. That’s why we have once again demonstrated what is possible with the unique AMG One.”

Original article appeared on Top Gear: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/supercars/mercedes-amg-one-has-broken-its-own-nurburgring-record-six-seconds