Aussie places first Benz hypercar deposit

An unnamed Aussie is the first person to pay a deposit for Mercedes-AMG’s new million dollar hyper car.

It'll cost that person millions, it won't arrive for years, and as a left-hand-drive model only it'll be illegal to drive on Aussie roads. But that isn't stopping Mercedes-Benz Australia from importing a handful of examples of what will be AMG's first-ever F1-engined hybrid hypercar .

Merc's Australian operation will officially import AMG's still-in-development hypercar with the first example expected late in 2018.

During a round-table interview at last week’s 2016 Paris motor show press days, AMG boss Tobias Moers confirmed the car would be built in left-hand drive only. This usually results in a no-show for our market, but Mercedes-Benz Australia's senior manager for product and corporate communications, David McCarthy, revealed that local stock would be secured.

"Even if it's not RHD we'll get some," he told motoring.com.au.

And one Aussie collector has paid up, sight unseen.

"We already have a cash deposit," said McCarthy of the AMG hypercar.

"I can't tell you who it is or how much the customer paid, but it's my understanding it's the first paid deposit [for that car] in the world."

The as-yet unnamed AMG hypercar will be to be a mid-engined turbo V6 hybrid scorcher, developed in conjunction with the company's F1 arm. It will be constructed from carbon-fibre, feature active aerodynamics and will be the world's first road-car to be powered by the current generation of petrol-hybrid F1 engines.

AMG global boss Tobias Moers revealed that we can expect to see the car at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show. This coincides with AMG's 50th birthday.

The Mercedes hot shop clearly wants to be top dog in the exclusive hypercar class. Although Moers wouldn’t be drawn on power or weight or performance targets, he confirmed the turbo 1.6-litre V6 engine will have a 90-degree vee angle and will basically be a carbon-copy of the current championship winning F1 engine.

"We're not talking about inspired," he said, suggesting the engine is direct duplication of the F1 engine, which would save on development costs.

"We have to change somethings… Sure it's different, but it's not that far away [from the F1 engine]."

"We won't run to 15,000rpm, maybe we reduce that a little bit, but it's still five digits," he said, previously confirming an 11,000rpm redline  http://www.motoring.com.au/paris-motor-show-real-f1-links-for-mercedes-amg-hypercar-104016/  .

Will it be louder than an F1 car? Moers says no. But it will run on regular 98 RON fuel.

He also said it will be AWD, unlike its rear-drive rival expected to launch in 2019, the AM-RB 001. That car is a collaboration between Aston Martin and the Red Bull Racing F1 team.

"I saw the pictures," said Moers of the AM-RB 001, adding that V12 hybrid Aston Martin was "not that much" of a concern.

And for the lucky Aussie who plonked down the hard earned to nab the world's first deposit for the world's most extreme AMG – and possibly the world's fastest car – evening the ledger is likely to cost millions.

"Yes, it's really more expensive than everything else," said Moers matter-of-factly, noting that F1 engines don't come cheap.

McCarthy said it wasn't surprising Aussies are willing to shell out astronomical amounts of cash on ultra-rare, ultra-desirable cars, either.

"There are people waiting for the next Black Series. Because they want one, they want to complete their collection and drive another one.

"There are people that are just as passionate about AMG as there are about Ferrari or Lamborghini," McCarthy stated.