Adrian Newey recently made a surprising revelation about his new hypercar. The RB17, which was unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, has been touted as a vehicle capable of delivering F1-like performance. However, Newey has now disclosed that the car is not just illegal for road use, but also too powerful to race in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In a conversation on the Talking Bull podcast, Newey explained that the RB17’s extraordinary performance capabilities are actually a limiting factor when it comes to certain racing regulations. He revealed that the car’s tire load is a major challenge, forcing the team to reduce the downforce at high speeds to prevent the tires from bursting.
“Very early on we entered into a contract with Michelin to develop tires specially for the car. But even with those special tires, we have to start reducing the downforce above 150 miles an hour,” Newey stated. He further explained that the RB17 can’t exceed 370 kilometers per hour because the downforce is so extreme that it would overwhelm the tires.
Adrian Newey talking about the RB17:
“RB17 is really pushing the boundaries of everything I’ve learned over my career in one car.”
“I’d love for it to be viewed as a sensational piece of moving art that is something that has not ever been done before, in terms its of sheer… pic.twitter.com/mUUHioo1Ov
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) July 11, 2024
Newey acknowledged that while the RB17’s top speed and cornering abilities are exceptional, they also make the car unsuitable for endurance races like Le Mans. “In cornering, we have to start reducing downforce at 150 miles an hour… because otherwise, again, same reason,” he said.
Despite being labeled a hypercar, the RB17 is simply too powerful to compete in the Le Mans hypercar category. This, however, contradicts Newey’s earlier hints about the RB17 potentially racing at Le Mans.
Newey claimed that the RB17 could race in Le Mans with some modifications
During a media round after the unveiling of the RB17, Newey was asked if the hypercar could race in Le Mans. At the time, Newey had mentioned that significant changes would be necessary to make the RB17 compliant with Le Mans Hypercar (LMh) standards, particularly in terms of aerodynamics and active suspension systems.
Adrian Newey says RB17 entering Le Mans is a possibility but the car would need changes
“If the car can race in Le Mans? Yup. I mean, it’s possible. Of course, there would still be a lot of redesign work, especially on aerodynamics. I think the car, for the rest, wouldn’t be bad… pic.twitter.com/o1Imebqm0t
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) July 13, 2024
“I mean, it’s possible. Of course, there would still be a lot of redesign work, especially on aerodynamics. I think the car, for the rest, 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,” Newey had explained.
