Mercedes, like many manufacturers, have their own dedicated high performance division called Mercedes AMG GmbH. AMG aims to up the excitement levels for appreciating and driving your average automobile.
The latest to cause some excitement is the announcement of the R50 hypercar at the recent Paris Motor Show, which to all intents and purposes is going to be, according to AMG, a street legal F1 racer – but a 2-seater – packing 1300 horsepower. The car will sit under the Mercedes-AMG stable.
The R50 is likely to be another gull wing door car and of very limited production, which should come as no real surprise as all hypercars have one thing in common, that they always have a wallet busting price tag that limits them as a potential purchasing decision to very few individuals.
Sales and marketing boss, Ola Källenius, has not been too forthcoming with information so far, but has revealed that the R50 will be a road going car that you ‘could drive every day.’
Coincidentally, next year sees the 50th anniversary of the original AMG company which was founded in 1967 before Daimler-Benz full ownership in 2005. So it is probably not unreasonable to suspect that the R50 hypercar might be a significant development planned to coincide with those celebrations.
The most exciting part of the Paris Motor Show announcement was of course, that the Mercedes-AMG R50 would contain F1 drivetrain technology. Along with this, the R50 will have two electric boost motors powering the front wheels with around 150hp per motor, while the (probable) 2-litre engine will power the rear wheels.
AMG are known for their liberal use of carbon fibre, and the R50 will be no exception, as we can expect an extremely stiff carbon fibre monocoque body.
It’s likely that we will get a first official sighting of the Mercedes-AMG R50 hypercar in all its glory at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2017, and by then we will probably know the price tag as well – but expect that to be in excess of around £1-2 million.
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