Red Bull’s jaw-dropping RB17 hypercar finally revealed
Adrian Newey’s latest masterpiece is ready to hit the road, and it’s a monster. The final version of Red Bull’s RB17 hypercar has officially broken cover, following last year’s prototype shown at Goodwood.
Only 50 of these beasts will ever exist. That’s right – just 50 worldwide, making this one of the rarest hypercars on the planet.
What makes it special? For starters, there’s a screaming naturally aspirated 4.5-liter V10 engine built by Cosworth that revs to an ear-splitting 15,000 rpm. The engine works alongside an electric motor adding about 200 horsepower and handling reverse gear.
Together, they pump out around 1,200 horsepower – all going to the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential gearbox.
The performance is mind-blowing. The RB17 can rocket from 0 to 100 km/h in just over two seconds and will easily blast past 350 km/h.
It’s incredibly light, too. The carbon-fiber monocoque and advanced composite bodywork help keep the weight under 900 kilograms – that’s less than most compact cars!
The aerodynamics generate massive downforce, similar to what you’d find on modern race cars. Its pushrod suspension with active elements clearly shows this car belongs on a track.
Even though Newey moved to Aston Martin last year, he stayed involved with finishing the RB17. Red Bull Advanced Technologies director Rob Gray told Top Gear:
“Adrian’s allowed, and he’s still interested in what’s going on. We know what he wanted the car to look like and he’s always on the end of the phone if we need him.”
One of Newey’s final tweaks was moving the exhaust to the spine of the engine cover – a change that created serious challenges.
“That’s quite a big change, and led to a lot of work on the thermal side of things – to stop bits catching fire,” Gray explained.
He added that while Newey could design every part himself, “he’s always had a team around him to turn his early concepts into reality.”
## Alonso spotted driving another Newey creation
This isn’t the only Newey-designed hypercar making waves. Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso was recently photographed at the MotorLand Aragón circuit behind the wheel of the Aston Martin Valkyrie – the second road-legal hypercar designed by Newey.
Though street-legal, the Valkyrie’s performance is much closer to an F1 car than anything you’d typically see on public roads.
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