Update: this post has been updated to include a statement from Red Bull Advanced Technologies.
One of the most distinctive features of older F1 cars was how ear-piercingly loud they were. Clearly, Red Bull Racing’s head of design, Adrian Newey, remembers that time fondly because his company’s first hypercar, the RB17, will feature a V10 engine that can rev all the way up to 15,000 rpm.
In a recent video published by Oracle Red Bull Racing, the legendary designer says that he was inspired by the distinctive sound of late-90s F1 cars, whose high-revving V10 engines could not only be heard, but felt when they were on-track.
Newey says that the in order to make the hypercar that he is designing for Red Bull Advanced Technologies emotive and exciting, he decided on a naturally-aspirated V10 engine as the basis for its power unit.
Oddly, an early version of the press release attached to the video suggested that the engine would be a V8. We reached out to Red Bull Advanced Technologies, which confirmed that despite previously communicating that the car would be powered by an eight-cylinder engine, it decided to upgrade it to a V10 with air-spring valves.
The designer added that the engine will make around 1,000 hp (746 kW/1,014 PS), and it will be helped along by a 200 hp (149 kW/203 PS) electric motor that serves a variety of purposes, including standing in for first gear, reverse gear, supplying torque fill during gear changes, as well as simply providing a bit of extra oomph.
It won’t come as a surprise that the car is focused on track driving, then. Although Newey says that he wants the car to be so powerful and capable that it creates awe in the driver, he also wants it to be accessible to anyone who wants to buy it. As a result, the cabin will be larger than his other hypercar’s, the Aston Martin Valkyrie, and as part of the £5 million (US$6.38 million at current exchange rates) purchase price, training in the Red Bull simulator and coaching will be available to buyers to prepare them for the car.
Read: Red Bull To Reveal $6M RB17 Hypercar In 2024 With 1,233 HP
Despite having two seats and being drivable by amateurs, the RB17 will be a track monster. Newey claims that “the car, if driven by a professional driver, is capable of Formula One lap times.” That will be possible thanks to a curb weight of less than 900 kg (1,984 lbs), its enormous power, its active suspension, and its aerodynamic downforce will be capped at 1.7 tons.
Given its very high price point, and incredible performance, production will be strictly limited to just 50 examples (or 49 once Newey gets his), and development is humming along. Red Bull Advanced Technology is already accepting expressions of interest, and the design will be revealed this summer. On-track testing will start in 2025, and production will kick off a year later.
