One of my favorite cars at last weekend’s Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance was this bright yellow Mercedes-AMG One, the only one of its kind at a show that was full of large concentrations of one sort of car. Only 275 of these F1-engined hypercars are set to be built, with the first one having rolled off the line in 2022 and production continuing on as we speak. (Or, I guess, as you read.) The One not being road-legal in the U.S. aside from under the show and display rules makes them even more of an uncommon sight — I’m still jealous that our own Collin Woodard got to see two in one place.
Daniel Golson / Jalopnik
What made seeing this AMG One even better is that it was in one of the “track-only” modes, either Race Plus or Strat 2, which hunkers down the suspension by about an inch and a half, folds up the front diffuser flaps, opens the louvers on the front fenders, and raises the active rear wing. That last bit is what I’m here to nerd about for you. I love cars with active rear wings, especially when the wing in question is not just functional and cool-looking, but the actual mechanism and moving parts look good, too. The AMG One is an excellent example of that. Its active aerodynamics helped it set the production car lap record at the Nürburgring, and they’re a joy to get up close to and stare at, as well.
DRS helped set the ‘Ring record
In the normal drive modes the AMG One’s wing sits flush with the rear deck, giving the tail a nice profile. That shark fin extends off the back of the large roof scoop that’s molded to the carbon-fiber engine cover, which has a giant NACA duct on either side and rear-facing louvers. I love that the front edge of the rear wing has a traditional Mercedes badge on it, especially as the three-pointed star on the One’s nose is airbrushed on.
Daniel Golson / Jalopnik
The two-piece wing has a retractable blade that slides rearwards at an angle, and the whole thing can flip up act as an airbrake. Mercedes says that when the One has its aerodynamics in its Track mode, downforce is increased by up to five times depending on the speed, and total possible downforce generated by the One is more than 1,500 pounds. Then there’s the DRS system, which is activated by pressing a button on the steering wheel.
DRS closes the front fender louvers and retracts the upper section of the wing, reducing downforce by about 20% but increasing acceleration even further. The driver can either turn DRS off manually, or the car will automatically do it if it detects deceleration or a specific amount of lateral acceleration, re-engaging the active aero. On test driver Maro Engel’s second Nürburgring lap run, where he beat his initial record by over five seconds, he used DRS even more of the time.
It was subject to a recall
But man, just look how cool the arms for the wing are! They’re so complex, a mix of curves and straight lines with multiple joints and bolts and mounting points. Plus, because the AMG One’s wing (and suspension) is hydraulically controlled, you get the added drama of those little hydraulic lines powering everything. It reminds me of the Bugatti Veyron‘s rear wing mechanism, which has even more artful but less-complicated arms. The AMG’s wing can extend, retract or adjust itself in an instant.
Daniel Golson / Jalopnik
The wing was the source of a recall earlier this year, though. Back in June, Germany’s Federal Motor Transportation Authority recalled 219 AMG Ones built between December 12, 2022 and May 9, 2025, because the hydraulic line could be missing a handful of cotter pins, leading to a hydraulic fluid leak that could subsequently cause a fire if it landed on a hot surface and ignited. Luckily there were no reported fires due to this issue, and the fix only took an hour and a half.
