“It’s possible”: Adrian Newey entertains idea of $7.7M Red Bull hypercar entering Le Mans

Adrian Newey hinted at the possibility of Red Bull's RB17 making its debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, the aero wizard did not confirm the precise date of its debut but claimed that the $7.7 million Hypercar can surely make it to the World Endurance Championship.

Adrian Newey, along with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner recently unveiled the much-awaited RB17 at Goodwood Festival of Speed. The car is the brainchild of the 65-year-old F1 maestro, and his last project with Red Bull before he departs from the Milton-Keynes-based team in the first quarter of 2025.

RB17 comes with a naturally aspirated V-10 engine that redlines 15,000 rpm and has a top speed of 218 miles per hour (350 kilometers per hour). It weighs less than 900 kilograms and has "undeniable power, speed and beauty."

Talking about if the car was fit enough to take part in Le Mans in its Hypercar division, Adrian Newey said (via Motorsports Italia),

"Yup. I mean, it's possible. Of course, there would still be a lot of redesign work, especially on aerodynamics. I think the car, otherwise, wouldn't be bad at all. But aerodynamics... Well, we should remove the active suspensions and completely redesign the aerodynamics because it has too much downforce for LMh standards."

To take part in Le Mans, cars have to abide by certain regulations and possess specific specifications, such as maximum length, width, and wheelbase. Besides these, cars also need to fulfill the criteria of minimum weight, minimum engine weight, and so on.

The RB17 which comes with a ballistic powertrain, and intense aerodynamics is still not a road-legal hypercar. This leaves room for the manufacturers to develop its road-legal version, and craft it according to the norms of LMh (Le Mans Hypercar).

Currently, Red Bull's F1 competitors Ferrari (499P), and Aston Martin (Valkyrie AMR LMH) run their Hypercars at Le Mans, along with Toyota, Vanwall, Peugeot, Isotta Fraschini, and Glickenhaus.

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Adrian Newey opened up on his pet project, the RB17

Adrian Newey, the Chief Technical Officer of Oracle Red Bull Racing poses for a photo after the unveiling of the new Red Bull RB17 hypercar during Day Two of the Goodwood Festival of Speed at Goodwood on July 12, 2024 in Chichester, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Adrian Newey's Hypercar, the RB17 left the motorsport as well as automobile enthusiasts in awe. The celebrated aerodynamicist, along with a team of engineers at Red Bull Advanced Technologies designed the $7.7 million beast.

Speaking about his longtime project, Adrian Newey said to the media at the Goodwood Festival, at Silverstone (via The Race),

"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."

The RB17 customers would get the benefits of customizing their interior, exterior, and other minor details. Red Bull is set to develop only 50 units of this track-only car, and as per reports, they are all sold out.