- A street-legal version of the Red Bull RB17 track-only hypercar will come from Lanzante
- Production of the RB17 doesn't commence until 2025
- The conversion to be street-legal will cost approximately $325,000 and $650,000
The Red Bull RB17, shown in concept form last week, is an extreme track car crafted by legendary Formula 1 designer Adrian Newey to be faster than the current crop of F1 race cars.
Newey never intended for the car to be driven on public roads, but Lanzante, a company experienced in turning track cars into street machines, is ready to take up the challenge of making the RB17 street-legal.
In a statement to Top Gear published on Thursday, Lanzante said some future owners of the RB17 have already requested the company develop a road-car conversion for the RB17, and that it plans to start development work immediately.
Crucially, Lanzante said it will ensure the cars remain optimized for the track while also being usable on the road.
Red Bull RB17
Red Bull hasn't shown the final design for the RB17. The concept version displayed last week is actually bigger than the final design, and it is only a mock-up. It doesn't have an interior or working powertrain.
Lanzante didn't say in which regions the car will be street-legal. It's easier to make non-production vehicles street-legal in the U.K., where both the Red Bull F1 team and Lanzante are based, due to the single vehicle type approval rules there, so a similar conversion for the U.S. may not be applicable.
Some of the previous track cars Lanzante has made street-legal include McLaren's P1 GTR and Senna GTR, as well as Pagani's Zonda Revolucion and Huayra R. At last week's 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the company also showed off two modern Porsche 935 tribute cars made legal on the street.
Red Bull RB17
However, the RB17 is a very different beast, as unlike those other models it isn't derived from a road car. It will come powered by a Cosworth 4.5-liter V-10 that will scream to 15,000 rpm, and feature a supplemental electric motor to further boost power as well as provide torque fill and first gear and reverse functions. The engine alone is expected to deliver 1,000 hp, with the electric motor an additional 200 hp.
Just 50 examples will be built in total.
According to Top Gear, the cost of the conversion will be somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000 British pounds (approximately $325,000 and $650,000), which is small change compared to the 5 million British pounds ($6.5 million) that the RB17 costs.
