New Models
New Models

Mercedes-AMG R50 hypercar teased, will debut this year

A new hardcore hypercar from Mercedes-AMG, expected to be known as the 2017 Mercedes-AMG R50, will debut this year to celebrate the Affalterbach performance arm's 50th anniversary.


A new image of the new Mercedes-AMG R50 was revealed at CES 2017 by the company's head of research and development – and former AMG boss – Ola Kallenius, who said the hypercar would be like a birthday present to the AMG brand.

"The hypercar will actually bring formula one technology on the road," Kallenius said. "Not inspired by formula one technology – actual formula one technology on the road."

So if it's the drivetrain from a formula one car it will be powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 rev-limited to 15,000rpm, along with twin electric motors backed by a high-tech lithium-ion battery pack. Pretty intriguing stuff, and you can read more about it here.

"With this hypercar they're giving themselves and also their customers a 50th anniversary present," he said. "They're also demonstrating in this particular case that electric propulsion with very sophisticated combustion engine propulsion could be a perfect match."

The brand has shown a teaser of the R50 in the past – a silhouetted profile shot of the car was revealed at the 2016 Paris motor show (above) – but this new rear-end shot gives a little more away about what to expect, and including the fact that yes, that F1-style roof pod is legitimately going to be there.

The swoopy rear-end styling also reminds us a bit of the Mercedes-Benz Concept IAA, so we might see a boomerang rear light on the production car (see it below). And just like the Concept IAA – which stood for Intelligent Aerodynamic Automobile thanks to its shape-shifting rear-end – the new Mercedes-AMG hypercar will likely feature adaptive aero in lieu of a fixed rear wing.

It is predicted that between 200 and 300 examples of the hypercar will be built, and it is expected to be priced at about 2 million euro before taxes (or 2.4 million with taxes – that's about AUD $3.47 million). Expect a debut at the 2017 Geneva motor show or the 2017 Frankfurt motor show.

Mercedes-Benz has built hardcore models in the past, the most notable of which being the CLK-GTR, which was powered by a 6.0-litre V12 engine and was designed with racing in mind.

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