Newey's new showpiece: what can we expect from the RB17?

Adrian Newey built seven different Red Bull cars that were good for a Formula 1 world title, but the top designer is involved in much more than just the premier class of motorsport. The engineer is leaving the Austrian team, but he will remain involved in the development of the RB17 until the last moment. It is Newey's latest showpiece, but what can we expect from it?

Newey was previously responsible for building the innovative Valkyrie with more than 1100 hp of power. That started in 2016 as a joint project between Red Bull Racing and Aston Martin, when Aston was still the main sponsor of the Red Bull F1 team. Further development of the Newey-developed car followed in 2021, and in 2025 the British marque will also use it to participate in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

But Newey also put his knowledge and skills to use outside racing. The engineer has been co-designing his own Oyster yacht since 2023. Together with the Oyster team, he personalises an 885 model. His ambition is to one day sail around the world. The project should be completed this year. Earlier, Newey said of building his own sailing yacht: "The beauty of racing is that only two things count - how fast it is and whether it is reliable. Building a sailing yacht is much more subjective: then factors like user enjoyment, performance and usability also come into play."

Newey's RB17

Red Bull drove an RB16B rather than an RB17 in 2021 in the premier class of motorsport. The RB17 was skipped because the 2020 and 2021 cars were almost identical. Virtually nothing was changed to the regulations between those seasons because of the coronavirus crisis and the associated cost savings that were needed.

Yet work did take place on an RB17. The sports car - not to be used on normal motorways - is yet to be unveiled in 2024. When the plans were announced, Red Bull stated that around 50 would be produced. Newey is mainly responsible for the design and development. The price tag? Around £5 million (around €5.8 million).

The RB17 seats two people. The bolide features a closed cockpit and the estimated engine output is around 1,250bhp. The hypercar aims for lap times also driven by Formula 1 cars.

Newey told Red Bull's Talking Bull podcast: "“The challenge we set ourselves is that adaptability of the car. But then ultimately, the car, if driven by a professional driver, is capable of Formula 1 lap times. It’s kind of mind-blowing in a way that this car, which is a two-seater, can produce that sort of performance."

"And that’s really been achieved by the usual key parameters of focusing on weight, so it’ll be less than 900 kilos, so much lighter than any normal road car, or track car. But at the same time, it will have 1000 horsepower, V10, normally aspirated, so it’ll sound awesome – but we then have a 200 horsepower electric motor, that fulfils a variety of functions. Obviously, it’s an extra 200 horsepower, but it also smooths out the torque, smooths out the gear change, provides reverse gear, first gear, you can move off the starting motor, all the usual sorts of multifunction," Newey said.