ONE

Segment
Coupe

Last month, Bugatti made history after the Chiron became the first production car to break the 300-mph barrier, reaching an astonishing speed of 304.77 mph. To celebrate, Bugatti is launching a limited-edition Chiron Super Sport 300+ inspired by the record-breaking hypercar, that will reach a top speed of 273.4 mph. Bugatti also beat Koenigsegg and Hennessey in the race to 300 mph.

Both manufacturers will still attempt to beat Bugatti's record, however. Koenigsegg is working on a 300-mph Jesko, while Hennessey insists the Venom F5 will be the first production car to hit 300 mph in both directions. Mercedes-AMG, on the other hand, is sitting out of this race, so don't expect the One hypercar to attempt to beat Bugatti's speed record.

Speaking with Top Gear, AMG boss Tobias Moers made it clear that he isn't interested in chasing top speed records. "I'm not interested in a speed competition. Doing 350, 400 kph, I'm okay with that. And a Nurburgring lap of course. The experience of driving a Formula 1 powertrain is much more important than top speed."

He has a point: a car's top speed isn't the most important aspect, it's the enjoyment of the driving experience and the emotional response it provokes. Even a comparatively slow car can be fun to drive.

Sadly, we still have a long time to wait for the Mercedes-AMG One to arrive, because deliveries of the F1-powered hypercar have been delayed until Q1 2021 due to the complexity of the project. That means it will arrive after its main rival, the Aston Martin Valkyrie. "We are being honest with our customers," Moers explained.

"It took a while to get the emissions done with that engine, and it took a while to get noise under control, in the passenger cabin as well as the outside – the drive-by noise – where there are new regulations in place. But there's no excuse on our side. We are just executing what we defined, but maybe we underestimated the journey. It took a while to get some fixes sorted."