Mercedes awarded prestigious engineering trophy

Ewan Gale
Wednesday 2 November 2022 11:56 - Updated: 12:00

Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains has been awarded the Dewar Trophy by the Royal Automobile Club.

The trophy has been given in recognition of the successful implementation of the manufacturer's F1 powertrain into its road-legal hypercar, the Mercedes-AMG ONE.

The car was initially created as a prototype before being sent into a limited-run production of only 275, taking F1 technology to the roads.

A 1.6-litre V6 turbo-charged petrol engine seen in the Mercedes F1 car has been partnered with four electric motors and an 800-volt battery to deliver in excess of 1000bhp.

The technology also consists of a carbon monocoque construction, an automated manual transmission that forms a duo with a carbon racing clutch, whilst a DRS of sorts aids aerodynamic efficiency, as well as active front-wheel-arch louvres.

Ben Cussons, chairman of the Dewar Technical Committee, said: "Presenting the Dewar Trophy to Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains was a unanimous decision.

"Bringing the AMG ONE to production is a remarkable achievement, and with the power units being made in Northamptonshire and the cars being assembled in Coventry - a city with a rich motoring heritage - it’s a great story for British engineering."

The trophy was presented to the RAC in 1904 by Sir Thomas Dewar MP and is not handed out every year.

Instead, the trophy is only awarded when the technical committee, comprising a panel of automotive experts, believes there are 'contenders of sufficient merit'.

The AMG ONE marks the third occasion Mercedes-Benz has been presented with the trophy, following the successes of its 2009 KERS F1 system and its dominant F1 championship-winning PU106A hybrid power unit.

Mercedes HPP advanced technology director Adam Allsopp added: "Receiving the Royal Automobile Club’s Dewar Trophy is a tremendous honour for everyone involved in developing the Mercedes-AMG ONE.

"Giving owners the opportunity to get a little taste of what has helped make the Mercedes F1 Team so successful in Formula 1 during the hybrid era, and making it road legal without losing that Formula 1 DNA was a huge challenge, but one that we fully embraced.

"We’re very excited to have made it a reality."