Mercedes-AMG's next supercar could bring F1 tech to the road

By Ronan Glon August 31, 2016

2018 mercedes amg supercar rumors performance specs ronan glon benz cla 45 engine bay — Ronan Glon/Digital Trends

Mercedes-AMG could celebrate its 50th birthday by building a wild, limited-edition hypercar packed with technology features borrowed from the ultra-competitive world of Formula 1.

Uniquely, the yet-unnamed model is tipped to use an evolution of the turbocharged 1.6-liter V6 engine that currently powers the W07 F1 car driven by Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. The engine’s displacement might be raised to 2.0 liters in the name of driveability and reliability, and it could gain a second turbocharger. Its total output will lie in the vicinity of 900 horsepower.

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The six-cylinder will be complemented by a brake energy recuperation system — another feature borrowed from F1 — and a pair of electric motors that will each spin one of the front wheels. All told, the gasoline-electric drivetrain will send anywhere between 1,000 and 1,500 horsepower to all four wheels. Engineers are allegedly targeting a zero-to-60 mph time of about 2.5 seconds, and a top speed of roughly 220 mph, though tire technology will largely determine the final figures. Rear-wheel steering and torque vectoring will help drivers make the most of the car’s astonishing power.

The design is expected to borrow a handful of styling cues from the W07, though the hypercar will land as a coupe and not as an open-wheel, open-cockpit racer. It will be built primarily out of carbon fiber and lightweight materials such as aluminum in order to tip the scale between 2,200 and 2,900 pounds.

Read more: Mercedes-AMG isn’t done expanding the GT lineup

AMG hasn’t publicly said a word about how it will celebrate its 50th birthday. However, an anonymous source within the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team confirmed the existence of the hypercar to British magazine Evo during the Belgian Grand Prix. The publication expects that production will be limited to just 50 examples, and that each one will carry a base price of about 4 million euros, a sum that represents nearly $4.5 million. If the rumors are accurate, AMG’s first true hypercar will land in 2018.

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