The Red Bull RB17 Is Finally Real And It Makes F1 Cars Look Slow

There’s a particular breed of hypercar that exists purely to make everything else on a circuit feel inadequate. The Red Bull RB17 is that car, dialled up to eleven. Born from the mind of Adrian Newey, arguably the greatest aerodynamicist motorsport has ever seen, this track-only weapon has now entered its final build phase at Red Bull Advanced Technologies’ Milton Keynes facility, with circuit testing just weeks away.

The brief was absurd from the start. Build something faster than a current Formula 1 car, then let 50 very wealthy individuals loose with it. Simulations suggest the RB17 will lap Spa-Francorchamps in around 1 minute 38 seconds, roughly a second quicker than Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying best. Let that sink in for a moment.

What Sits Beneath All That Carbonfibre

The RB17 runs a bespoke 4.5-litre naturally aspirated V10 developed by Cosworth, good for 1,000hp on its own. Bolt on a 200hp electric motor integrated into an Xtrac six-speed hybrid gearbox and you’re looking at a combined 1,200hp pushing just 900 kilograms of all-carbonfibre construction. The power-to-weight ratio is, frankly, violent.

But it’s the aerodynamics that truly set this thing apart. Active aero surfaces generate up to 1,700 kilograms of downforce, nearly twice the car’s own weight. A distinctive spine running along the engine cover channels exhaust gases beneath the rear wing, effectively supercharging downforce at speed. Programme chief Rob Gray described it as Newey’s parting gift before the great man departed for Aston Martin in early 2025, and honestly, it’s one hell of a goodbye.

Ten Million Dollars Of Exclusivity

The RB17 doesn’t just push engineering boundaries, it pushes financial ones too. Each of the 50 units commands roughly 5 million GBP, around $9.5 million AUD before you’ve even thought about options. Every single allocation is already spoken for, with customer deliveries scheduled from spring 2027 through to the end of 2028.

Perhaps the most intriguing detail is the whispered possibility of a road-legal conversion through specialist outfit Lanzante, using the UK’s Individual Vehicle Approval process. That conversion alone could add another 250,000 to 500,000 GBP to the bill, but for buyers at this level, that’s a small price to pay.

When asked whether Red Bull would follow the RB17 with something even more extreme, Gray basically said he wouldn’t be too keen on building anything faster than this. Fair enough, Rob. When you’ve already unsettled Formula 1, where exactly do you go from here?