Adrian Newey: RB17 will get a naturally-aspirated V10, 15,000rpm redline and weigh just 900kg

Adrian Newey has confirmed his Red Bull RB17 hypercar will feature a 1,000-horsepower naturally aspirated V10 redlining at 15,000rpm, not the twin-turbo V8 many were expecting. Why? He says he wants to emulate the Formula 1 monsters from the ‘90s. Yes, yes, and even more yes.

Speaking on the recent Red Bull podcast, Newey also added the nat-asp V10 will be supplemented by a small electric motor with around 200bhp, whose purpose is to provide the first and reverse gears while easing the torque delivery and smooth out the gear changes throughout the range.

The team is also aiming for a kerbweight of 900kg, which in itself is impressive, but then factor in the capped downforce figure of 1.7 tonnes. Newey says the car will reach peak downforce by 150mph, with its own weight in pressure already achieved by 120mph. So in the space of just 30mph, the car is effectively gaining 800kg of downforce? Nuts.

To stop the tyres from collapsing under the weight of all that downforce, Red Bull has partnered with Michelin to supply rubber designed specifically for the RB17.

It is claimed to be one of, if not the most aerodynamically efficient cars ever made, such is its downforce-to-drag coefficient ratio. To achieve this, the team will supply the RB17 with a blown diffuser and multifunctional active suspension, which will make it more comfortable than a current Formula 1 or LMP1 racer, despite being much more complex.

The result of all this? Newey says the target for the RB17 is to be able to pull off Formula 1 car lap times. A tall order, but probably not beyond the means of a man whose vehicles have surpassed 200 GP wins and culminated in over 12 constructors’ championships. Despite this hardcore approach, Newey wants the car to be mechanically forgiving when you drive it hard, and not at all intimidating.

He said plenty of time has gone into thinking about the systems the car will have to make it user-friendly, and one of those is how the multifunction active suspension works; essentially allowing drivers to change the mechanical balance of grip between both axles. This should make it adaptable to a wide range of driving abilities.

Newey said the RB17 will have more legroom than the Aston Martin Valkyrie - a car he was heavily involved in helping to develop - which would be great news to anyone over six feet tall and interested in one of the 49 models billed for production (Newey will likely nab the 50th).

For those that will have the millions this car will likely cost, Red Bull will of course include training packages enabling you to access its range of simulators ahead of taking delivery. There's a full-scale preview set for summer 2024, before rig and track testing continues throughout 2025. We could even see the car debut as early as the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix.

The first production models are then expected in 2026 - perhaps much sooner than most had originally envisioned.

This could act as the first of the many track day packages customers will be offered as part of the RB17 ownership experience - a similar sort of ideology to what Ferrari has with its XX programme of cars - and could include venues like Silverstone, Spa Francorchamps, and Suzuka.

So, Red Bull is finally making a road car, and Adrian Newey is being ‘unleashed’ with it according to Christian Horner. And if all of Newey’s optimism is true, the RB17 could well end up becoming the craziest car ever conceived.