Adrian Newey’s radical Red Bull RB17 was one of the biggest launches at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Armed with a 1184bhp hybrid V10, ground effect aerodynamics and a kerbweight of under 900kg, it offers F1 levels of performance to those who can afford the £5.75m price tag.
There is, however, a catch. Like other cars that deliver such a stratospheric turn of pace such as the Ferrari FXXK Evo, McLaren Senna GTR and Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, the 50 RB17s planned for production will not be homologated for road use.
It’s reasonable to assume that, once converted, the RB17 will be the fastest car ever fitted with number plates
Despite this, it seems the RB17 won’t be restricted to the smooth asphalt of race tracks for long, as British engineering firm Lanzante has confirmed it is working on a road-legal RB17 specification. The team explained: “early customers for the track-only model have engaged Lanzante for the road conversion programme, and work is already underway to develop the necessary upgrades to allow it to be driven on public roads. Lanzante will work closely with owners to develop the road legal version V10-powered RB17, ensuring the project stays true to the original design brief, allowing for optimised performance on track, but also useable on road.”
Lanzante is renowned for transforming track-only hypercars into road-legal machines. Notable projects include adapting the McLaren F1 GTR, P1 GTR and Senna GTR, as well as the Pagani Zonda Revolucion for street use. Most recently, Lanzante unveiled its road-going Porsche 935 conversion at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, alongside a lightweight Championship edition of its Formula 1-engined Porsche 930 TAG Turbo. The company also knows Adrian well, having worked with him for many years, preparing and running several of his classic cars over the years, including his Jaguar E-type, Ford GT40 and Ferrari 512.
It’s reasonable to assume that, once converted, the RB17 will be the fastest car ever fitted with number plates. At the recent Silverstone Grand Prix, Adrian Newey estimated that the RB17 would have posted a laptime similar to the pole-winning Mercedes-AMG W15 of George Russell.
Newey is currently serving out the remainder of his contract as Red Bull Racing’s chief technical officer by focussing on the RB17 project. He will be leaving the team for pastures new in the first quarter of 2025.
For more on the Red Bull RB17, click here.
