Mercedes-AMG One sets Monza lap record

The Mercedes-AMG One has smashed the lap record for road cars at the Monza track in Italy. The two-seater projectile is Mercedes-AMG’s ultimate street-legal performance car with a top speed of 352km/h.

It brings Formula 1 technology to the road and uses a F1-derived 1.6l V6 engine that revs to 11,000rpm teamed with four electric motors for a total system output of 782kW.

Fresh from tearing up speed records at the Nürburgring and Hockenheimring in Germany, as well as at Austria’s Red Bull Ring, the hypercar has added the fast-flowing Monza track in Italy, where F1 cars can reach speeds up to 347km/h on the main straight. 

Mercedes-AMG factory driver Maro René Engel was once more behind the wheel when the AMG One clocked a 1 minute 43.902 seconds lap, about 11 seconds faster than the previous record holder, the 991.2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. A modern F1 car will do about 1 minute 20 seconds on the same track. 

“That was really an unforgettable experience,” said Engel after his lap. “I didn’t expect that we would be able to set such a lap time with these track conditions. In some crucial areas of the track, it hadn’t dried completely yet and was therefore tricky.”

The car was relatively stock too; only the maximum camber values were selected, and it had the “Race Plus” driving mode that maximises active aerodynamics and drops the ride height by 37mm at the front axle and 30mm at the rear.

It was also equipped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R MO tyres specifically engineered for the hybrid AMG. Mercedes’ performance arm has yet to release footage of the record-breaking run.

Only 275 units of the AMG One, which accelerates from 0-100km/h in 2.9 seconds, will be produced at AMG’s facility in Coventry, the UK. Its intricate six-cylinder engine also must be rebuilt every 50,000km.