Mercedes-AMG One is as German as Queen Elizabeth

Production has started five years after the first sign of life for the Mercedes-AMG One. A happy fact, of course. Especially because – on paper – it is one of the world’s most special cars ever. The Mercedes-AMG One has a 1.6 V6 straight from Formula 1 under its special carriage. It will basically get the hybrid powertrain that the Mercedes Formula 1 team used in the 2016 season. That power source was developed and built in Brixworth (where Mercedes’ F1 engines still come from) and also the engine of the Mercedes-AMG One is made there.

To make the marriage between the car and the engine run smoothly, Mercedes-AMG has already indicated that it was aiming for British assembly. Production of the Mercedes-AMG One has now started and it appears that the Germans have chosen Coventry as the production location. Yes, of course; home to Jaguar Land Rover and the heart of the British car industry since the early 20th century. So there is very little German about the Mercedes-AMG One in that regard, but that will probably not matter to the 275 happy first owners. After all, the British have already shown with the Formula 1 team that they can build extremely impressive cars.

Mercedes-AMG, together with Multimatic, has set up a special small-scale assembly facility with 50 employees for the Mercedes-AMG One in Coventry. There, the One goes through sixteen different construction phases and in all cases the work is done by hand. First, the monocoque and body parts of the Mercedes-AMG One are put together and then painted part by part after dismantling. The loose body parts are briefly ‘parked’ after painting for later assembly.

Then the drivetrain from Brixworth comes in, which has already been extensively tested in advance. The combustion engine goes in first, then the low-voltage electrical components come in, and finally those with a higher voltage. After that, the powertrain as a whole will be tested. If that all goes according to plan, the interior will go in. The doors and other body parts then rejoin the car and finally it’s time for things like the wheels, lighting and underbody protection. When it is ready, the Mercedes-AMG One goes into a test room where, according to Mercedes-AMG, a ‘monsoon rain’ is fired at the car. After a final inspection of the car and a test drive by a test driver, the work is done.

What is German again, is the place where the very wealthy first owner can receive his or her Mercedes-AMG One. That happens in the home base Affalterbach. Here you will also receive an extensive instruction before the keys are actually transferred. Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas, among others, are waiting for a Mercedes-AMG One. The first copies will be delivered this year.