Paris 2016: Mercedes-AMG to build new hypercar

F1 technology to feature heavily on halo model.

What's the news?

The phrase ''racing car for the road'' tends to be somewhat overused, but in this case it's extremely apt. Mercedes' in-house performance brand AMG is working on a challenger to take on cars like the Porsche 918, McLaren P1, the infuriatingly-named Ferrari LaFerrari and the Aston Martin/Red Bull AM-RB 001.

Speaking on the eve of the Paris Motor Show, Thomas Weber, head of R&D stated: "I am very excited to officially confirm that our next big thing at AMG is already in the pipeline. We are going to create an AMG performance hybrid featuring our Formula 1 drivetrain technology. Under the lead of AMG, our performance companies will join forces and create the most efficient and, at the same time, the best-performing and most spectacular AMG of all time; some might even call it a hypercar. But no matter what you call it, it will definitely show how we will take our performance brand into the future with extremely efficient and intelligent drivetrain technology. Of course, there will be no compromises in terms of the emotional appeal of this car."

Exciting stuff indeed. Details are sketchy at present, but early indications are that the internal combustion engine element of the hybrid drivetrain will feature a detuned version of the 1.6-litre V6 turbo engine found in the current F1 car. Getting a racing engine to work successfully in a road application is a huge challenge, so it will be interesting to see how this will be overcome. The chassis will be composed of a carbon monocoque, and software and technology developed on the racing cars will feature heavily. Rumours suggest that Lotus will have a part to play in set-up and handling, although this hasn't been confirmed by either party as yet.

As the current breed of hybrid hypercar has shown, mind-bending performance can be achieved by the combination of cutting-edge mechanical and electric power systems, but it doesn't come cheap. A price tag of around £3 million (€3.5 million) has been suggested, so get searching down the back of your sofa...

Published on: September 28, 2016