Closing the gap between race car and road car has defined automotive advancement from the very start, and motorsport’s Formula 1 series has been the ultimate feeder of trickle-down technology to top-tier production models. But what if, rather than a trickle of tech, the fountainhead itself comprised the car—a street-legal, limited-production Formula 1 model? That was the question Mercedes was determined to answer with the Mercedes-AMG One, an example of which is currently on the virtual auction block through online platform SBX Cars.

The Mercedes-AMG One is the result of a moon-shot-like goal that took about six years to fully realize from the prototype’s debut to initial deliveries. Putting the difficulty of the task Mercedes had set up for itself into perspective, the actual moon landing took only about two years longer to come to fruition after that particular challenge was announced.

In the official press announcement after the Project One show car was unveiled at the 2017 International Motor Show in Germany, Tobias Moers, then head of management for Mercedes-AMG, stated: “Project One raises the bar in terms of what is currently technologically feasible and thanks to its combination of efficiency and performance it represents an absolute benchmark. At the same time, Project One provides an outlook on how AMG will define driving performance in the future.” In other words, a lot was on the line for the high-performance division of Mercedes, and the gamble seemed to grow exponentially as time went on.

In 2018, Laura Burstein, one of Robb Report’s contributing journalists, interviewed Formula 1 icon Lewis Hamilton, who was on a winning roll with the Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 team at the time. Project One was among the talking points. “I’ve been nagging Mercedes for years, because we’re in Formula 1 and we have all this technology . . . We’re winning world championships, yet we don’t have a car that can match a Ferrari road-going car. So I guess they eventually decided this is actually a good idea. I’m not saying it was my idea, but I did nag them for ages to do it,” Hamilton told Burstein seven years ago.

When production of the planned 275 customer examples was ready to commence, Mercedes touted the accomplishment as taking “Formula 1 hybrid drive technology from the racetrack to the road for the first time.” The power-train configuration includes a 1.6-liter turbocharged V-6 engine—capable of 11,000 rpm—complemented by four electric motors, all mated to an automated seven-speed manual transmission. The combination results in a 1,049 hp, carbon-fiber car that can crush zero to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 218 mph (limited).

With this muscle, paired with active aero, the 3,737-pound (curb weight) Mercedes-AMG One set a production-car lap record at Germany’s famed Nürburgring-Nordschleife track in 2022. It then bested that time just two years later, covering the 12.944-mile circuit in 6:29.090 seconds, according to the 2024 press release from Mercedes.

Located in Dubai, the example now being offered features a left-hand-drive configuration and has only 98 kilometers (60.8 miles) on it. Although SBX Cars does not give an expected value range for the vehicle, by way of reference, Bonhams offered another example with 100 miles on it in July of this year, citing a high-end estimate of £2.8 million (roughly $3.7 million). As for the one presented though SBX Cars, it currently has a high bid of $1.85 million, but will be available on the site for eight more days.

Regarding the opportunity this current online lot presents, Steve Gregg, managing director of SBX Cars, tells Robb Report; “There are fast cars, rare cars, and important cars, the AMG One happens to be all three. It’s not just about numbers; it’s about what this car represents. Mercedes took actual Formula 1 tech and made it work on the street. That doesn’t just make it special, it makes it historic and uber-collectible.”

Click here for more photos of this 2024 Mercedes-AMG One hypercar.