The Red Bull RB17 hypercar will make its official dynamic debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, featuring a series of demonstration runs up the iconic hillclimb as part of its ongoing development program.
Designed by legendary engineer Adrian Newey and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, the track-only vehicle features a bespoke 4.5-liter naturally aspirated Cosworth V10 engine paired with an electric motor to generate a combined 1,200 horsepower.
The vehicle weighs under 900 kilograms and incorporates an advanced ground-effect aerodynamics package capable of generating 1.7 tonnes of downforce, enabling top speeds exceeding 217 miles per hour.
Newey, who recently departed Red Bull to join Aston Martin, will drive the hypercar along with Red Bull drivers Yuki Tsunoda, Isack Hadjar, and Alisha Palmowski.
"He's allowed to [consult on the project], and he's still interested in what's going on," said Rob Gray, Technical Director at Red Bull Advanced Technologies.
The engineering team expressed pride in how closely the final production model aligned with the initial concepts established during its five-year development phase.
"The ambition was to create a car capable of delivering a level of performance rarely seen outside Formula One, while remaining true to the original vision that inspired the project," said Gray.
The project required the manufacturing team to overcome multiple validation and design constraints to deliver Formula One levels of performance for a customer vehicle.
"The engineering challenge has been immense.
We set out to deliver Formula One-inspired levels of performance in a customer track car, requiring us to solve countless challenges across design, engineering, validation, testing and manufacture," said Gray.
The manufacturer intends to produce only 50 units of the left-hand-drive hypercar at its Milton Keynes campus, with each unit priced at 5.75 million pounds.
"One of the things I'm proudest of is how closely the finished car reflects the original vision," said Gray.
The vehicle will undergo further testing at dedicated racing circuits later this year to fully evaluate its performance capabilities.
"At Red Bull, we're at our best when we're taking on challenges that others might consider impossible. RB17 is exactly that.
Its dynamic debut at Goodwood marks an important milestone in the programme, as we continue to validate and develop the car in real-world conditions and explore its full performance potential," said Gray.
Red Bull Racing Team Principal and CEO Laurent Mekies stated that the event serves as a celebration of the company's engineering legacy and innovation.
"Goodwood is the perfect place to celebrate what Red Bull Engineering is all about.
Seeing RB17 come to life and run in front of the fans is a very special moment.
It represents years of dedication, creativity, and engineering excellence from an extraordinary team," said Mekies.
The team's display at the festival will also feature the championship-winning 2013 RB9 Formula One car alongside a static showcase of historic special-edition liveries.
The two-seater cockpit was engineered with generous dimensions to accommodate custom seating options and an adjustable pedal box for track use.
"I had been mulling around the idea to take on the challenge to design our very own Hypercar, from concept to delivery, for many years and it has been a magnificent project and journey," said Adrian Newey, Car Designer.
The vehicle was designed to meet Le Mans Hypercar safety regulations while offering full factory maintenance support for owners at global track events.
"For it to finally be the day we pull the covers off and see the birth of the RB17 is truly remarkable.
The RB17 Hypercar embraces everything we stand for: undeniable power, speed and beauty.
It is very adaptable in its abilities, and we made sure to design it as a two seater so that the thrill of driving at F1 speeds can be enjoyed with a friend or partner," said Newey.
