- Charlotte, North Carolina, is home to a new road course that also has a garage complex and a clubhouse.
- Slated to be fully complete next spring, the Ten Tenths Motor Club and Ten Tenths Circuit are located on the grounds of Charlotte Motor Speedway.
- The 1.7-mile track sits on 100 acres and is open now, and that’s where we saw the first Mercedes-AMG One to reach a U.S. owner.
The debut of Charlotte’s new road course, the Ten Tenths Circuit, included an unexpected guest star: a Mercedes-AMG One, the first one on U.S. soil. The One’s owner was also in attendance, his not-so-secret identity hinted at by the “H One” display plate on the back of the car—Rick Hendrick, a partner in the Ten Tenths project.
Before the track went hot, Hendrick and Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith explained their motivations for the project. Moreover, while there’s a business case for the road course, a significant part of the rationale was to create an exhilarating place where they could drive their own cars. Smith brought some choice machines, including a Ford GT, but humorously referred to his own collection as “the Rick Hendrick starter pack.” The portion of Hendrick’s fleet parked next to the track carried an estimated value of $35 million and included notable models like the McLaren Senna GTR, a Ferrari Daytona SP3, and a Porsche 918 Spyder. However, the star of the event was the Mercedes-AMG One, proudly wearing a painted three-pointed star on its hood.
If you’re unfamiliar with the One, let us bring you up to speed. The One is Mercedes-AMG’s earnest attempt to bring a Formula 1 car to the street, and its fidelity to that goal is astounding. It’s a hybrid that uses a 1.6-liter V-6 with an electric turbocharger (sound familiar, F1 fans?). The engine’s valves are pneumatically actuated, enabling an impressive 11,000-rpm rev limit. Consequently, the total output, including its three electric motors, is a staggering 1049 hp. The One recently beat its own Nürburgring record, laying down a lap in six minutes and 29 seconds. It’s a larger-than-life car, and one that stole the spotlight from a coterie of legendary machines.
So, we’ll be sure to let you know when we get an opportunity to test one. By the way, Rick, aren’t you curious to find out what time your car will set during the upcoming Lightning Lap?
Ezra Dyer
Senior Editor
Ezra Dyer is a senior editor and columnist at Car and Driver. Although he’s currently based in North Carolina, he still recalls how to turn right. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and once drove 206 mph—a fact that remains mutually exclusive with the others.
