This is it: Adrian Newey’s 1,000bhp, 900kg RB17 hypercar that’ll rev to 15,000rpm

in the end, Aston Martin Valkyrie The RB17 is Adrian Newey’s long-awaited non-F1 car, a track-only hypercar into which he has poured the contents of his planet-sized brain. It’s powered by a Red Bull-spec Cosworth 1,000bhp 4.5-liter V10 engine that revs to 15,000rpm and is assisted by a 200bhp e-motor. What’s the name? When the world stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic, Red Bull wasn’t running an F1 car called the RB17. Now, there’s a place for this lonely badge.

The target weight is under 900kg. But in reality it’s a big, imposing machine, over five metres long and two metres wide. It has side pods and a shape defined more by what’s missing than what’s there, an eye-catching detail. Porous: that’s the key word, suggesting there’s lots of open space to speed air to and from vital destinations.

Even at a standstill, it looks busy. You can see the turbulent air around the front wheel arches being shaped and redirected under the car, into a byzantine complex of floors and tunnels. Somewhere there’s a pair of fans transforming all this energized air into pure aero magic. And there’s a full-width rear wing, which exhausts air primarily through the diffuser.

Main carousel photo: John Wycherley
Additional photos: Red Bull

Unlike the ostensibly similar Valkyrie, the RB17’s singular focus has given its lead developers enviable freedom: to deliver F1-like lap times and massive driver engagement on the world’s greatest circuits, such as Silverstone, Spa and Suzuka, while still providing space for two inside.

There is an important precedent for this new car: think back to the Newey-designed Red Bull X1. Gran Turismo 5 and 6So how did he come up with the idea for this car back in 2010? The seeds were definitely sown, as he told TG.com in an interview: “It was a fantasy car. No CFD (computational fluid dynamics) or internal work. It was just the first sketches that turned into styling models for computer games. But there was a basic idea behind it, and it’s been mulling over quietly in the back of my mind ever since.”

The real thing took centre stage in Newey’s mind over Christmas 2019 (no mince pies or naps). Frustrated by the lack of decent snow during a skiing holiday, he started drawing a hypercar. Perhaps surprisingly, aesthetics were a big factor: “It’s my belief that cars at this level should be something that can be treated as works of art, or sculpture,” he explains.

The car also features active suspension, which has been banned in F1 since 1994.

“My career has always been performance-oriented, so when it comes to aerodynamics, I’m always looking for things that make the car faster. This time, we wanted to make a more holistic product in terms of look, sound and driving experience. It all started with the intent: to create a car that could achieve F1 lap times but also be driven by two people.”

As for that configuration, Newey has no regrets. He wants to share the love. “I do circuit driving from time to time and it’s nice to have a passenger in the passenger seat. The visibility is good in this car and the passenger seat is slightly offset. It makes sense to do it that way and it’s an elegant solution. A larger cabin has an impact on weight and aerodynamics, but we felt that was a penalty we had to accept.” There’s also luggage space in the front, with room for two sets of overalls and, behind the cockpit, space for two helmets.

The chassis is, as expected, made from the strongest carbon composites. The car also uses active suspension. Although active suspension has been banned in F1 since 1994, it is central to the RB17’s incredible performance, as it allows extremely precise control of the vehicle’s dynamics. Simulations determined the minimum chassis stiffness that provided the best response for the suspension system. The car could have been stiffened even further with RBAT, but that would have risked making it heavier without making it any faster. The development team met their dynamic and performance targets and were satisfied with the structural integrity and lateral bending stiffness.

Safety is also a key factor. The RB17 takes its cues from the LMPH regulations, not just for stiffness but also for something called “overturning moment.” In the event of an accident or collision, the car should not be subjected to such sudden lift that it becomes completely airborne (YouTube is full of endurance race cars from the ’90s and early 2000s doing exactly this). The team managed to comply with these limits without compromising the look of the car.

“The parts of the F1 cars that I drew – and now not all of them – some of the aesthetic is probably subconscious,” says Newey. He drew the aerodynamic surfaces by hand, the old-fashioned way he always did. He then transferred these to CFD to visualize the airflow and understand the loads generated. At that point, Red Bull hired a couple of RCA automotive design graduates to flesh out the surfaces, then submitted their proposals for further CFD analysis. If downforce was sacrificed in the styling process, the aero guys could suggest ways to regain it, a process that doesn’t happen in F1.

The RB17 was meant to look better, but how do you get a car that can achieve modern F1 lap times when you’re not capable of the mind-blowing reactions of Max Verstappen (which is to say, pretty much everyone)? Active suspension is key here, as is a graduated traction control system and different chassis modes. Software in this area is still in development, but active suspension is clearly a big achievement.

“This allows us to change the mechanical balance and stability margins,” Newey explains. “Combined with the active aero surfaces on the car, it allows us to change the centre of pressure. [the ratio of front downforce versus rear downforce]Either way, it’s pretty far forward. The cockpit has knobs that you can adjust on the fly so you can get more stability on the entry of a slow corner or more stability at the apex of a high-speed corner. It gives you a tremendous amount of flexibility.”

The RB17 is targeting 1,700kg of downforce at 150mph, so the floor has more work to do than an F1 car because… there are no rules. And what about the tyres? of With such massive aerodynamics, what’s the limiting factor? Red Bull is working with Michelin on three different compounds. The most extreme tyre is the ‘Confidential’, which is a bit peaky but has great grip. The standard slicks have a higher slip angle, are less sensitive to temperature and will also be available with tread options.

It’s a car with some bandwidth, but it’s not one to drift in order to become Instagram famous. Newey laughs about it, but at times he comes across as a cold, clinical doctor. He’s also a trained historic racing driver, so he knows what oversteer feels like. “I [the RB17] “This is the first car I’ve ever driven on a race track, but if you have a strong drive and determination, you can get the ultimate performance out of it. It has that adaptability.”

The gearbox is designed and built in-house, while the gears themselves are made by Xtrac. Shift times are fast, but not as fast as an F1 car’s instant-shift set-up to avoid excessive harshness. A dual-shift set-up would be too heavy, so this set-up uses sensors and software to learn the position of each gear and dog ring, ensuring high-power shifts don’t jerk or get damaged. The e-motor takes care of first gear and reverse, simplifying low-speed operation as well as providing an extra 200bhp and torque when required.

Similarly, lessons were learned from the acoustically intense Valkyrie, so the V10 is semi-stressed rather than bolted directly to the chassis. Mounting the engine as per regulations meant a slight weight gain, but it was a price worth paying. The RB17 also had to meet as many circuit noise regulations as possible, so it doesn’t exceed 105db. The exhaust system is 10-into-1 and is inspired by the McLaren MP4/15 designed by Newey in the 2000s. He calls it the best-sounding F1 car of all time; if you listen to cars from that era, it’s hard to disagree. The steering is fully hydraulic and the concept is very similar to F1 cars; it just took a while to get there.

“An F1 car takes 12 to 18 months of development before it can go to its first test,” Newey said. “Development of the RB17 began over Christmas 2020, and has been in the concept stage for over three years. This has allowed us to thoroughly examine the car, self-criticise, think carefully about the direction we took, go off one route, evaluate it, get unsatisfied and change to another route.”

This kind of preparation time is not common in F1, which means the car you see here is the third version before it goes live. “We had three engines, the first was all-wheel drive and the electric motors were in the front wheels instead of the rear,” says Newey. “Simulations showed that rear-wheel drive was better once the weight limit was removed, and I was happy with that, because rear-wheel drive is easier to handle.”

Work on the interior is ongoing, but the seating arrangement was locked in at an early stage. “It was all part of the base package. The available structural space is fixed now and we’re working on the ergonomics, looking at where to put the screens and switchgear. The interior is a key element – we don’t want it to be a spartan race car cabin. Physical buttons are an absolute must, especially in a car with this level of performance. Then the interior options will come.”

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The powertrain has already been dyno-tested and development work will accelerate throughout the rest of the year. All sub-systems will be proven before being fitted to the first few test cars ahead of its track debut in summer 2025. Production will be limited to 50 units, all of which will be built at Red Bull’s ever-expanding technology campus near Milton Keynes. The manufacturing process is similar to that of F1 cars, another unique selling point of the RB17. Priced at £5 million.

Some might complain that such cars even exist. Ferrari’s XX and Corse Clienti programs, including versions of the two-time Le Mans-winning 499 P, are now well-established, and Aston Martin, Brabham, Lamborghini and McLaren have all had challenges. Sure, some well-heeled motorsport fans have a penchant for classic racing cars, and there are plenty of high-end single-manufacturer race series for modern gentlemen and ladies’ racers. (Note: the RB17 was first named by a woman.)

But this car exists in its own space, a clean-slate, no-rules design from one of the most influential technical gurus in motorsport history. “It’s next level, several steps up to be honest. [the Valkyrie] “Performance-wise,” he says, the main event began.