F1-calibre lap times in a two-seater that you can stroke a cheque for: That is how we’d sum up the RB17, a newly unveiled hypercar from the brilliant mind of Adrian Newey and the technical powerhouse of Red Bull Advanced Technologies. “It’s basically Adrian Newey unleashed,” said Red Bull team principal and CEO Christian Horner, summing it up even better than we could.
The RB17 made its debut over the weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Like the Mercedes-AMG One and the Aston Martin Valkyrie, the RB17 seeks to capitalise on the fanfare surrounding Formula 1, the bleeding-edge technology that oozes from the series, and the obscene amounts of money that run in and around the sport’s travelling circus to create something truly special.
One glance at the car and it appears as though, unsurprisingly, the folks at Red Bull have accomplished their objective. My goodness. Long, low, and draped in stunning blue bodywork that seems to flow like ripples in a pool overtop the highly advanced chassis, the RB17 looks properly insane.
A few technical bits, from Red Bull Racing’s debut announcement: The chassis is a two-seat, carbon-fibre monocoque construction, which is the norm for these sorts of ultra-high-performance cars because it offers an incredible strength-to-weight ratio. The RB17 features a semi-stressed, mid-mounted 4.5-litre naturally aspirated V10 engine that breathes freely to a claimed redline of 15,000 rpm. That 1200bhp screamer drives the rear wheels through a carbon-fibre gearbox.
The numbers keep getting nuttier: Red Bull says the RB17 weighs less than 900kg making it roughly 180kg lighter than a contemporary Mazda MX-5. Top speed is said to be in excess of 217 mph, but outright pace isn’t where we expect the RB17 to separate itself from the also-rans. Rather, like the Formula 1 cars from which it draws influence, the RB17 will lay waste to your brain in the corners, thanks to absolutely absurd aerodynamic capability.
“The downforce to drag ratio puts [the RB17] up into aircraft territory, which has never been achieved before in motor racing,” said Newey in Red Bull’s reveal film for the car, which you can view below.
If talking about such a ratio fogs your brain a little bit, consider this: While speaking to the members of the media at the Festival of Speed, Newey revealed that in recent simulation testing, the RB17 was actually quicker than a modern F1 car. According to Motor1, Newey admitted that in the hands of a proper driver (“driver-in-the-loop”, as Newey called it) the RB17 was roughly a second per lap faster around Silverstone than last week’s British Grand Prix pole lap of 1:25.819, set by George Russell of Mercedes.
Of course, all of this performance won’t be immediately accessible by the folks penning the hefty cheques to pick up one of the 50 copies Red Bull is planning to build, but in true ultra-luxury product fashion, you aren’t just buying the car here. Plunk down the cash for an RB17 (no word on final prices yet, but rumours put the figure somewhere north of £4.9M a pop), and you’ll get access to a range of track events with the cars, one-of-a-kind driver development, and tailoring of the car to suit your individual needs, says Red Bull.
A story we published earlier this year indicated that Horner viewed the RB17 as perhaps a first chapter in Red Bull’s expansion into road-car manufacturing. (This one is a track-only model, however.) But with news of Adrian Newey’s departure from the team at the end of this season, one has to wonder if losing the man who was “unleashed” to drum up the RB17 will have altered those plans a bit.
In the interim, let’s all kick back and admire the RB17 for what it is: The most insane track toy ever.
