Red Bull Racing is just months out from unveiling its RB17 hypercar.
The leading Formula 1 team confirmed a debut scheduled for July during Wednesday’s shock announcement of long-time Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey’s planned departure from the team in early 2025.
The timing points to a debut of the hypercar at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed in the U.K., which runs July 11-14.
Newey is leading the design of the RB17, a track-only car that could potentially deliver performance on par with modern F1 cars. One of his main goals for the car is to deliver a true F1 experience from behind the wheel. Newey was also responsible for the Aston Martin Valkyrie.
Adrian Newey
In Wednesday’s announcement, Red Bull said Newey will step back from designing F1 cars during his remaing time with the team to focus on the hypercar.
Newey in February said the car will come with a V-10 engine aided by an electric motor for a combined output of around 1,200 hp. The V-10 will deliver 1,000 hp on its own and rev to a 15,000-rpm limit, he said.
Red Bull has also said the RB17 will sport the most advanced ground effects package used on a car sold to the public. This is expected to include features such as adjustable side skirts, and an active suspension to compensate for some of the negative side effects of such packages, like the bouncing and resulting nose lift, known as porpoising, seen on some F1 cars since 2022, when new ground effects design rules were introduced. The car is also expected to come with a blown diffuser, which directs exhaust gases above the diffuser to aid downforce, plus bespoke Michelin tires.
Red Bull first announced plans for the car in 2022. The team said at the time that 50 examples are planned, each priced at around 5 million British pounds (approximately $6.3 million), and that production will start in 2025.
