Mercedes-AMG One Becomes First Street-Legal Car to Break 6:30 at Nurburgring

The Mercedes-AMG One just stole the Nürburgring Nordschleife production car lap record—from itself. Two years ago, the AMG One claimed top honors, taking it from the Porsche 911 GT2 RS Manthey with an official lap time of 6:35.18. However, Mercedes knew a faster run was in there somewhere, so it returned to the ‘Ring on September 23, 2024 and shattered its own record with an astonishing 6:29.09 time. That makes the AMG One the first road car ever to slide under the 6:30 mark.

“Two years ago, the conditions were not ideal, and some sections of the track were still a little damp,” said Mercedes DTM driver Maro Engel, who was behind the wheel for both record-setting laps. “We knew we could do more, and we wanted to show that. Today we were able to demonstrate the maximum potential of the AMG ONE. Many thanks to the whole team from Affalterbach for the trust they’ve placed in me. It was a great pleasure and honor to be able to drive this record lap with such a unique car.”

Mercedes was fortunate that track conditions were perfect this time around, with an ambient temperature of 59 degrees Fahrenheit and surface temp of 68 degrees. The asphalt was also perfectly dry throughout the ‘Ring’s nearly 13 miles. So unless there’s a driver even braver than Engel, this is the fastest time Mercedes is likely to get out of the AMG One.

To illustrate just how impressive the Mercedes-AMG One’s record is, it was 11 years ago that a production car first broke the seven-minute barrier at the ‘Ring, when the Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach Package achieved a 6:57 lap in 2013. It took more than a decade for a production car to go half a minute quicker—and it’s hard to imagine them going significantly faster anytime soon. The AMG One makes 1,063 horsepower from its Formula 1-derived V6 hybrid powertrain, weighs 3,736 pounds, and has an F1-style aerodynamic drag reduction system (DRS). All of that was needed to break 6:30, so just imagine what will be required to perform even better. Rest assured, someone will break this record—it’s only a matter of time. But how long that’ll take, and what kind of machine will do it is anyone’s guess.

Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com