New Red Bull RB17 revealed: A Formula 1 car you can actually own
July 12, 2024 by Jamie Edkins
Car changing is a big deal
This is the Red Bull RB17, and it’s been designed to offer Formula 1 thrills to anyone with £6m to spare.
- New Red Bull RB17 revealed
- A Formula 1 car you can actually buy
- 4.5-litre V10 engine with 1,200hp
- Weighs just 900kg
- Aerodynamics designed by Adrian Newey
- Yours for just £6m plus tax
Red Bull Racing has unveiled this at the Goodwood Festival of Speed: the RB17. It’s been created by Adrian Newey, the man who designed 12 championship-winning F1 cars, and this is your chance to role play as Max Verstappen – if you have £6m down the back of the sofa not doing anything.
That’s a lot of money for what is essentially a toy. The RB17 isn’t road legal, so you’ll have to be pretty friendly with your local racetrack to enjoy the naturally-aspirated V10 engine.
New Red Bull RB17 engine
Powering this bonkers hypercar is a 4.5-litre naturally-aspirated V10 engine which revs up to an insane 15,000 RPM.
It’s connected to a sequential automated single-clutch gearbox which has an electric motor in it, and when you combine this with the engine you get 1,200hp – all of which is sent to the rear wheels. You’ll certainly need some skill to drive this thing quickly on a track.
New Red Bull RB17 chassis and suspension
That power figure is even more mind-blowing when you learn that the RB17 only weighs 900kg, meaning it has 1.3hp per kg. So how is it so light?
Well all the bodywork and the chassis is made of carbon fibre. THat’s great and all but Red Bull has gone a step further by making all the wishbones for the suspension out of carbon fibre, as well as the gearbox. That makes this the only production car in the world to have a carbon fibre gearbox.
You get bespoke tyres for this car as well, and they need to be to cope with the speed at which the RB17 can tackle a racetrack. It can actually lap a Formula 1 circuit slightly quicker than Red Bull’s current F1 racing car, as long as Max Verstappen is driving it.
There is a risk with this car that the driver could have all the gear and no idea, but the RB17 can help you out. It has active suspension which can raise and lower, as well as adjust the roll stiffness on the fly quicker than you can blink
New Red Bull RB17 aerodynamics
The RB17 has been designed by Red Bull Racing’s chief engineer Adrian Newey, and he’s something of an aerodynamics guru. As a result, this car creates an incredible 1.7 tons of downforce at just 100mph.
Every vent, scoop and spoiler on the RB17 serves a purpose, and the resulting design looks incredible. You can actually see through the entire car from front to back and most of the suspension is exposed as well. After all, this is essentially an F1 car with an enclosed shell.
You have an active front splitter, active rear wing and active diffuser, and the advantage of this is that you can set the car up just as you like it. You can adjust the downforce at the front or at the rear to make the car oversteer or understeer more as you see fit.
New Red Bull RB17: Can I buy one?
That depends if you have a spare £6m kicking about, and that’s before taxes. Only 50 RB17s will be made, and these are likely to be snapped up quickly by collectors looking to own something designed by Adrian Newey.
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