So there’s this flaming hot rumor going around that Mercedes is planning to build a 1,300-horsepower hypercar that will make its debut in 2017 as the crown jewel of AMG’s 50th anniversary celebrations. German magazine Autobild first reported on this rumor, saying that the unnamed machine of apocalyptic proportions will feature a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that will be tuned to deliver an astounding 1,000 horsepower to go along with a pair of electric motors, each coming with 150 horsepower. It’s a wild car by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s still a rumor and when it comes to rumors involving hypercars of this power, it’s probably best to have the salt shakers handy at this point.
Still, these are also the types of rumors that are hard too ignore. At one point in time, nobody would have thought that Aston Martin and Red Bull would collaborate on its own hypercar, and yet here are, waiting with baited breath to see what the now confirmed AM-RB 001 hypercar is going to be all about. The Autobild report about the Mercedes hypercar adds that the model will be named the AMG R50 as a possible nod to AMG’s 50th birthday. It’s also rumored to feature a carbon fiber monocoque and four-wheel steering just like the one found on the recently unveiled AMG GT R. A target weight of 2,886 pounds was also thrown around, as is the use of prototype race cars as the design inspiration of the hypercar. The car’s estimated price, according to Autobild, is around $2 to $3 million.
Make no mistake, the rumored details about the “AMG R 50” are staggering, even if the validity of it all is still up in the air. So instead of trying to decode this potentially segment-altering development, I’m going to try to instead make a case for why Mercedes should or shouldn’t build a 1,300-horsepower hypercar. The popular sentiment may be on the side of doing it, but there’s also an alternative discussion to be made on why it may not be that much of a good idea to get into this market, at least not yet.
Continue after the jump to read the full story.
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