The news that Lewis Hamilton would depart McLaren for Mercedes-AMG ahead of the 2013 Formula 1 season was little short of a bombshell. Why would the Briton leave a team that had signed him in 1998, granted him a topflight debut in 2007, and steered him to 21 Grand Prix victories and a 2008 World Championship, switch allegiance to an outfit that had won just once race since returning to the grid in 2010? The naysayers were in no short supply.

But, having been courted by three-time F1 World Champion and Mercedes F1’s non-executive chairman Niki Lauda, Hamilton was assured that the Silver Arrows had everything in place to succeed at the dawn of the incoming new powertrain rules cycle. In a landmark shift, for 2014 the naturally aspirated 2.4-litre V-8 engines were replaced in favour of 1.6-litre turbocharged, hybrid V-6s. Underlined by the technical prowess of the Mercedes High Performance Powertrains division, the team utterly dominated the competition thereafter.

At the Australian Grand Prix, the first race of this pioneering new era, Nico Roberg romped to the finish line some 27 seconds clear of the field, with the Mercedes-powered McLarens completing the podium. That set the tone for the years to come. Between 2014 and the return of ground-effects in F1 for 2022, Hamilton, Rosberg, and Valtteri Bottas won a spellbinding 111 out of 160 races. In turn, they delivered a clean sweep of Constructors’ titles through to 2021, as Hamilton would come to tie Michael Schumacher as a seven-time World Champion.

Given the scale of its supremacy, Mercedes saw fit to celebrate its engine by transplanting it into a road car successor to the famed CLK GTR of the 1990s. A truly painstaking period of development ensued, as a 2016-specification V-6 from the W07 F1 car was adapted for homologation. The powerplant, one which ordinarily needed to be waited on by a crew of mechanics, now had to start on the button. Calibrating the engine to idle at speeds compliant with emissions regulations, negotiating a global pandemic, and a parts shortage meant that, while the resulting Mercedes-AMG ONE was unveiled in 2017, the final production car had to wait until 2022. Appropriately, this was the year that AMG celebrated its 55th anniversary.

Limited to just 275 units, the ONE is among the most complex road cars ever conceived. Five motors—including the internal combustion engine plus F1-honed Motor Generator Unit-Heat and Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic—release a combined output of 1,063 horsepower. Delivered via four-wheel drive and an Xtrac seven-speed transmission, the car launches to 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds and onto a top speed of 352 km/h. Equipped with active aerodynamics, including an F1-style Drag-Reduction System and four flaps that deploy over each front wheel well to extract turbulent air, the ONE holds the production car lap record around the Nürburgring Nordschleife. In maximum attack “Strat 2” mode, named after the F1 car’s ultimate qualifying trim, driver Maro Engel circulated in a staggering 6min 29.090 sec.

Reminiscent of the F1 car from which it takes its engine, the Mercedes-AMG ONE offered here is configured in the exclusive, special-order shade of AMG Silver Arrow. This is complemented by the graduated Star livery (part of the Motorsport Styling Package) and carbon fibre exterior trim, plus the Petronas Green side stripe and details of the spokes of the aerodynamic, magnesium wheels. The exterior benefits from the factory application of paint-protection film. Meanwhile, the interior is predominantly specified in Magma Grey Exclusive Nappa leather and Black Dinamica microfibre, featuring contrasting Petronas Green stitching and seatbelt accents.

Holding an 11 January 2024 date of manufacture, this one-owner example is equipped with ceramic brakes, AMG ride control with adjustable damping, and a front-axle lift system. It was delivered new in Germany and is accompanied by a suite of AMG ONE accessories. This includes a model-specific tailored indoor car cover, charging cables, owner’s guide, AMG ONE Sennheiser wireless earphones, gloves, folio, carbon fibre key box, and adjustment tools. Minimally driven from new, the Mercedes-AMG displayed a mere 80 kilometres on its odometer at the time of cataloguing.

A true technical tour de force, the Mercedes-AMG ONE is brimming with F1 technology. Most prominent of all, its World Championship-winning engine. Also currently standing as the fastest production car ever to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife, it would make for a headline addition to any esteemed hypercar ensemble.

Given the model’s protracted gestation period, which is already a firm part of automotive lore, its like may not be seen again for some considerable time. This barely driven example, offered from single ownership, would make for a statement entry into any driving tour or display event.