It’s not every day that you come across a regular energy drink producer making top-of-the-line hypercars. But Red Bull has accomplished this task and guess how? The Austrian manufacturer has released the first look at its passion project, the RB17, which takes inspiration from RBR’s Formula 1 race car that never made it to the race track after RB16. It is a project that Adrian Newey, the Chief Technical Officer of Red Bull gave his heart and soul into, for several years. The Brit even stepped down from the team’s F1 operations (as indicated by a report from May 1, 2024) to fully focus on the hypercar.

At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the public got an exclusive look at the upcoming RB17 model. Unveiling his creation, Newey revealed the key features of the project which is a product of Red Bull Advanced Technologies. Boasting a top speed of over 350 mph with a power unit that can supply 1200 horse-power, the RB17 is a marvel to look at too. With a unique style element, a sleek design, and much lighter weight than a regular F1 car, Adrian Newey seems to have succeeded in making his last Red Bull project every bit like his Formula 1 challenger but somehow even better.

For any motorsports freak, the specs of the RB17 are enough to hook them to it. While the car still needs a lot of work before it becomes available to the buyers, you must be excited to know more about the pet project that has the genius of Adrian Newey written all over it, right? Well, look no further because we are about to delve into the nitty-gritty of the hypercar that has suddenly captivated all the car fanatics around the globe!

The RB17 lives up to F1 standards and even surpasses them

The world knows Adrian Newey for his achievements in Formula 1 as the veteran enjoys credit for 12 World Constructors’ Championships. He has worked with the biggest names in the king class of motorsports – Williams, McLaren, and Red Bull. And for all these three teams, Newey has built race-winning challengers. However, it might pique your interest to know that Newey is also one of the masterminds behind the Aston Martin Valkyrie hybrid car (yes, the one that costs a whopping $3.5 million)!

Now, Newey has poured in all his expertise from designing the F1 race cars as well as the Valkyrie to creating the RB17 hypercar. Compared to a Formula 1 single-seater, the project boasts an expanded cockpit that allows two people to sit in it. While this might be the biggest selling point, it does not end here. The RB17 can reach the performance of an F1 car any day and even surpass it! With a top speed of 350 mph, it can go faster than the average speed (220 mph) of the cars we see at the Grands Prix each weekend.

On top of it, Newey has worked his aero-wizard charm to install an active aerodynamics experience in the driver. As the Brit did not have to worry about any restraints from the FIA (the rule-making body of F1), he went extreme with the aerodynamic settings on the RB17. The car will also have a 15000 rpm hybrid V10 powertrain engine to support it. But all of these features might make you wonder if the car has become quite heavy with a lot of downforce, no?

Newey spills the reason behind the V8 engines of his lightweight hypercar

While Adrian Newey has made sure to pack the RB17 with every design innovation he could think of, the interesting stuff does not end here. To make matters sweeter for the buyers, the car weighs only around 900 kg, which is similar to any normal F1 car. While all the changes in the RB17 reflect the pure talent of Newey, what inspired him to switch the V8 engine for a V10 power unit in his latest creation?

Speaking on this, the 65-year-old motorsports maestro said, “I wanted a power unit that was capable of developing 1000hp but with a maximum weight of 150kg on the combustion side. A turbo V8 would have certainly given that. But obviously, it doesn’t sound as good as a naturally aspirated one. I think for me, [and] a lot of people would agree, the height of the sort of audio soundtrack for Formula 1 was the high revving V10s until the end of 2005.” Thus, the sound factor played a major role in deciding which engine would be fitted into the RB17 that would not go out into the market before next year.

When will the RB17 be available to the buyers?

The RB17 is a power-packed product that includes the best of Adrian Newey in a $6.4 million package. Now, any car collector with some deep pockets would want to get their hands on the Red Bull Advanced Technologies creation. However, only 50 of the first RB17s will be released as per the plan of the energy-drink-making corporation. Added to this, the cars will not be out on the market before 2025 since Newey needs to put in a lot of work to finish the dream project that he started several years back. As per the reports, the Brit is focusing solely on the development of the RB17 as he has already left working on RBR’s Formula 1 mission.

Now, Red Bull will release 50 RB17s for interested buyers who will not be able to take their purchases out for a spin on the road. This is because these models are exclusively track-only hypercars that can be tried out at designated race tracks. For this reason, Christian Horner‘s team will introduce a driving program solely for the RB17s. The Austrian manufacturers will create a customized list of some racing circuits around the world where the hypercars can be taken. The recent headlines also suggest that Red Bull will support the buyers of the RB17 with a 2-year warranty since they will be shelling out over $6,000,000 to get their hands on these machines.

Now that you are aware of the specs that come with the RB17, do you think this is a good investment that Red Bull is making? Or should the Milton-Keynes outfit have used its time to further develop its F1 car to take on the rest of the grid? Share with us in the comments below.