Key Takeaways
- Former F1 champion Nico Rosberg takes delivery of his AMG ONE.
- The hypercar has a very specific startup sequence that needs to be followed.
- Mercedes will effectively ‘brick’ the engine if it is switched on and off six times in a row before it can warm up.
Former F1 driver Nico Rosberg has been waiting a long time to collect his one-of-275 Mercedes-AMG ONE, and that day has finally come. After a six-year-long wait (Rosberg ordered the car in 2018), it is finally complete. Powered by a Formula 1 engine, the AMG ONE is an engineering marvel, and, therefore, also a complicated machine, as Rosberg found out when he mistakenly botched the startup sequence.
The AMG ONE requires the owner to follow the startup procedure explicitly. The electrified vehicle switches on, and there’s nothing but silence. Before the 1.6-liter V6 can be turned on, the catalytic converter must heat up to 932 degrees Fahrenheit. During this period (typically 60-90 seconds), the vehicle can be operated as an EV.
AMG ONE Customers Must Follow The Startup Procedure To The Tee
Rosburg switched the engine on (which is so loud that AMG provides noise-canceling headphones) and then switched it off soon after – something AMG’s engineers do not recommend. Things would have gone downhill if the former F1 champion had done this five more times in succession.
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“If you do it six times in a row, we block the powertrain. You have to call me, we have to come with a laptop. It takes five to eight minutes to warm up [or] when driving, two to five minutes, so don’t cut it. Leave it running, leave it [to] warm-up,” recommends one of the AMG ONE gurus. While this sounds ridiculous, you must remember that the Mercedes hypercar isn’t just your average commuter – even the automaker admits it was one of the most challenging vehicles it has ever developed.
Software Was The Most Challenging Part Of Development
Jochen Hermann, Mercedes-AMG’s Chief Technical Officer, told Rosberg that the development process was riddled with hurdles that engineers had to overcome – hurdles so great that such a project will never be attempted again. Getting the F1 engine to behave in a road car (and work reliably, no less) was tough, but Hermann says the software was the most challenging aspect of developing the car. It’s the first and last of its kind, with no plans for Mercedes to create something like this again.
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Rosburg has specced his car beautifully. The vehicle sports a paint color borrowed from a rival company, with the retired pro driver noting the Grigio Ferro hue is a Ferrari finish. The Three-pointed Star has been finished in black, with Rosberg noting it was his wife’s idea. This is the only AMG ONE to sport this unique feature (so far); it was painted by hand and required 16 layers to complete. For Rosberg, waiting for this incredible machine to come to fruition must have been worth the wait. Hopefully, the former F1 champ will explore all the AMG ONE’s abilities, as it’s incredibly quick around a circuit.
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