Yesterday the Formula 1 world was buzzing as Red Bull Racing officially confirmed that Adrian Newey would be leaving the team in 2025 after 19 years together.
In the same statement, Newey made it very clear that the RB17 hypercar is in “the final stages of development” and that he would spend the remainder of his time focusing on it.
Red Bull seconded that confirmation, saying: “Adrian will focus on final development and delivery of Red Bull’s first hypercar, his highly anticipated RB17 set to be unveiled at Goodwood in July.”
Initially advertised with a twin-turbo V8 engine, the new hypercar will now feature a naturally aspirated V10 that will rev to a screaming 15,000 rpm.
Christian Horner, CEO of Red Bull Racing and its Advanced Technologies offshoot describes the car as “Adrian Newey unleashed”.
According to RBAT technical director Rob Gray, the hypercar will be predominantly manufactured in-house, with items such as glass and gear clusters outsourced.
Touted as one of the most aerodynamic cars ever made, the RB17 is poised to achieve lap times comparable to those of an F1 car. Remarkably, at 120 mph (193 km/h), the downforce figure will be equivalent to the weight of the car.
Just 50 units will be planned for production for around £5 million (plus applicable taxes) with most of them already being spoken for.