Is Mercedes-AMG building a hypercar with a Formula One engine?

You would think using a Formula One engine in a supercar or hypercar would make sense for various reasons and it seems Mercedes does, too.

In an interview with motoring magazine Evo, a source ‘within the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team’ claims Mercedes-AMG is working on a hypercar that will utilise the 1.6-litre V6 turbo seen in the current W07 F1 race car driven by Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

The report claims the addition of an energy-recovery system would give the Mercedes-AMG creation in the range of 1,000 to 1,500bhp, putting it somewhere between the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder and the Bugatti Chiron.

Breaking down that total, 900bhp is said to come from the V6 lump and the rest from two 160bhp electric motors on each front axle and potentially at least one other fitted on the rear axle. If Mercedes-AMG can keep the kerb weight low, this car could bring a whole new definition to the word ‘hyper’ in ‘hypercar’.

Given that utilising all that power will require sizable levels of downforce, Mercedes-AMG has quite the engineering job on its hands, especially when it comes to downforce and reliability. F1 engines only have to last a relatively short time, after all.

But then Aston Martin has a similar vision with the AM-RB 001, which is said to be a road-legal monster capable of keeping up with an LMP1 race car, so perhaps borrowing more and more from Formula One and other motorsports makes sense, not least from a cost perspective, and will become more typical.

It helps, too, that Mercedes is yet to enter the hypercar market and cars of that kind do wonders for image. Would a 220mph Mercedes with an F1 howl fail? Probably not, especially when it is rumoured just 50 will be built ─ each one fetching around €4million.

Unsurprisingly, Hamilton and Rosberg are said to be uninvolved with the project and will presumably keep their focus on the F1 season. But both the F1 team and Mercedes-AMG will work together to make the car a reality.

There is, of course, a chance the news is untrue – a fabrication from someone with a vivid imagination. In which case, you will just have to stick with the current crop of AMGs on the market or do your own engine transplant.