Cosworth selected for Red Bull RB17 hypercar project as engine partner

Northampton, UK: Cosworth has been named engine partner for Red Bull’s groundbreaking new hypercar, the RB17, which was today unveiled at Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Announced as part of Red Bull’s 20th anniversary celebrations at one of the world’s most prestigious automotive events, the RB17 will feature Cosworth’s latest cutting-edge powertrain technology. 

Cosworth’s partnership with Red Bull underscores the company’s position as the global leader in high performance powertrains, with the RB17 joining an impressive roster of Cosworth-powered hypercars. 

Development of the engine began in June 2023, where it was decided a 90° V10 was the best solution to resolve all first order forces and moments to zero. Secondarily, the ‘V’ configuration and firing order were chosen to maximise vehicle refinement attributes. 

Most notably, the engine will feature Air Valve Spring (AVS) technology as the valve return actuation method. This is an innovation taken directly from F1, which enabled V10s of the noughties – such as the Cosworth TJ2005 that powered the Red Bull’s debut RB1 – to rev beyond 19,000rpm. The RB17 engine speed will be electronically-limited to 15,000rpm: the same as today’s F1 engines. This is part of the specification that enables Cosworth to meet Red Bull’s engine life span requirement of 24,000 kilometres while still delivering the ultimate driving experience for the 50 future owners of the RB17. 

In parallel with advances in engine design, Cosworth has also been continually evolving its emissions compliance development throughout the years, ensuring the RB17 engine, like the rest of Cosworth’s hypercar powertrains, meets the stringent requirements of Euro 6 legislation. 

Dr Florian Kamelger, CEO said: “Developing high-performance engines is what the company was created to do. Developing this V10 for a multiple Formula 1 world championship-winning business such as Red Bull is fantastic for the Cosworth brand, especially when we can let this one ring out all the way to 15,000rpm. We’re thrilled to be building on our relationship with Red Bull, and bringing together some of the greatest minds in the industry to produce a truly world-class machine. We’re well underway with development: it’s already been a year since we began the project and we’re looking forward to sharing more about this enthralling partnership.”

Cosworth has unrivalled expertise in designing, developing and manufacturing high performance road car engines, leveraging its rich heritage of creating powertrains for the world’s most demanding motorsport championships – the Cosworth DFV V8 is the most successful F1 engine of all time.

This know-how is applied directly to supercar and hypercar projects, and these are now firmly established in Cosworth’s business strategy. The successful development of the 6.5-litre V12 for the Aston Martin Valkyrie, the 3.9-litre V12 for Gordon Murray Automotive’s T.50, T.33 and T.33 Spider, and, most recently, the Bugatti Tourbillon’s 8.3-litre V16 are all testament to the world-class capability within Cosworth. The V10 for the RB17 further demonstrates what can be achieved when working in partnership with the world’s most exclusive and discerning brands.

About Cosworth
Cosworth is a global technology business with six decades of engineering experience that delivers propulsion, electronics and software solutions for customers in the automotive, aerospace and marine sectors. Whether through hybrid or EV propulsion, data connectivity or automation technology, Cosworth is ready to solve new challenges with mobility solutions of the future. No matter the complexity of the project, Cosworth has the ability to, design, develop and manufacture clean sheet solutions from its state-of-the-art facilities.