It looks like building a championship-winning car last year wasn’t enough for Red Bull, as the company has announced that it’s developing an all-new hypercar of its own, with ‘Adrian Newey design.’ The news comes after the energy drink maker announced its split from Aston Martin, after jointly developing the Valkyrie.
Tentatively called the ‘RB17,’ we don’t have many details surrounding it. We know that it’ll be a track-only car, which will aim to bring Red Bull’s Formula 1 expertise to the table. Even the design doesn’t seem to be finalised yet, as the company has so far only released an abstract sketch, hinting at the car’s form.
Design highlights here include a curved front and rear design, between which sits a bubble-shaped cockpit. Of course, being a track-focused car, there’s extensive use of carbon fibre all over the bodywork, including the two seats.
As per reports, only 50 cars will be built with each retailing for $4.1 million! Powering it will be a twin-turbocharged hybrid V8 motor, which will make “at least 1000PS” of power. That is more than Red Bull’s previous venture in the hypercar territory, the Valkyrie AMR Pro. Reports also suggest that the RB17 will be engineered and constructed by Red Bull Advanced Technology in Milton Keynes, England. As per the official release, it’ll pack the “most advanced ground-effects package available in a series production car.”
But the best news comes from Red Bull’s announcement that RB17’s buyers will be heavily involved in the development program, spending time with the Red Bull Racing team. They won’t be just handing you out the keys. Customers will have to spend time understanding the technicalities and training on simulation before some on-track practice.
While speaking about the RB17, Adrian Newey, said “The RB17 distils everything we know about creating championship-winning Formula 1 cars into a package that delivers extreme levels of performance in a two-seat track car. Driven by our passion for performance at every level, the RB17 pushes design and technical boundaries far beyond what has been previously available to enthusiasts and collectors.”
As far as when we’ll get to see it, customers are expected to get deliveries by 2025. This should suggest that we might see an unveil sometime in 2024.
