It may not be a race car, but Red Bull’s new hypercar is just about the next best thing.
The six-time Formula 1 Constructors’s Champion unveiled the eagerly anticipated RB17 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on Friday. The ultra-lightweight speed machine was designed by the legendary Adrian Newey and features a hybrid assisted V-10 that spits out 1,200 horses.
It’s little surprise that Red Bull’s first customer car is a track-only monster. The RB17, which was first announced in 2022, does nothing to hide its motorsports roots. It looks like an F1 car that’s outfitted with a curvaceous carbon-composite body with cut-outs that show off the skeleton-like structure beneath. The exterior bold lines flow from front to back across the swollen fenders topping its 18-inch wheel (larger 20-inch rims are available as an option), the bubble cockpit with room for two, and the sizable rear wing that sits above the gigantic spaceship-like diffuser. It’s not quite as hardcore as the Bugatti Bolide, but it can safely be called extreme. Red Bull also claims the vehicle’s striking shape will produce 3,747 pounds of downforce.
Red Bull RB17
Red Bull
The RB17 doesn’t just look like something that will go fast. It was specifically developed and engineered to F1-quality lap times. The car is powered by a hybrid setup that includes a mid-mounted naturally aspirated 4.5-liter V-10 and a drivetrain-mounted electric motor that combines to generate 1,200 hp, which is sent to the rear axle via a six-speed sequential gearbox. Even more impressive might be the mill’s 15,000 rpm redline, all but ensuring the car will scream around the track. Top speed is said to be a very respectable 217 mph.
Red Bull’s hypercar features an adjustable pushrod suspension with active height and ride control. There’s a lift mode in case you need to navigate over some rough asphalt before hitting the track. The vehicle is also equipped with hydraulically assisted power steering and ceramic brakes.
The most impressive thing about the RB17 may be its weight. Thanks to a carbon-composite chassis and gearbox the car somehow tips the scales at less than 1,984 pounds. That makes the vehicle a little over 200 pounds heavier than Red Bull’s current F1 entrant, the RB20. It also means the car’s aerodynamic shape and elements produce almost twice as much downforce as the vehicle’s actual weight.
Red Bull’s press release doesn’t mention how much the RB17 is, but Autoblog reports that the car carries a $6.4 million price tag. Don’t worry about gathering the funds to buy the track beast, though. The entire 50-car production run has already sold out.
