Red Bull has designed a car, the RB17, which can theoretically go faster than the RB21 that Max Verstappen races in F1.

Red Bull has offered a glimpse into the staggering performance of its highly anticipated RB17 hypercar, revealing that the Adrian Newey-designed machine is, in the virtual world, faster than a modern Formula 1 car.

The project, developed by Red Bull Advanced Technologies alongside its grand prix-winning F1 operations, will be limited to a production run of just 50 units.

While details have been scarce, a key engineer has now shed light on the car’s extraordinary capabilities.

The remarkable pace of the RB17 is achieved through a combination of aggressive, F1-inspired aerodynamics and a lightweight chassis weighing just 900 kg.

The car is powered by a naturally aspirated V10 engine that revs to 15,000 rpm.

However, this level of performance comes with a significant caveat: the extreme nature of the RB17 means it is not legal for use on public roads.

As a result, the 50 owners will be restricted to experiencing the car’s full potential exclusively on dedicated race circuits.

Speaking on the team’s Talking Bull podcast alongside former Red Bull driver David Coulthard at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Rob Gray, Technical Director of Red Bull Advanced Technologies, revealed the results of the car’s latest simulations.

In the virtual world, it’s faster than an F1 car,” shared Gray. “In Spa [Spa-Francorchamps], I think they did a 1:38 – something like that. So, incredibly fast.”

To put that simulated lap time into context, it is more than two seconds faster than Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris recently achieved at the home of the Belgian Grand Prix, with the two McLaren drivers pushing their grid-leading MCL39s to 1:40.5s in sprint qualifying and main qualifying, respectively.

Max Verstappen, in the leading Red Bull, was around four-tenths of a second behind in both sessions -suggesting he may not be racing in the quickest machinery the Milton Keynes squad currently has to offer.