2025 Red Bull RB17

One of the best engineers and designers of Formula 1 cars as well as road-legal ones like the impressive Aston Martin Valkyrie, Adrian Newey, is developing a brand new hypercar, the RB17, in cooperation with Red Bull. The car was announced in mid-2022, and now we have more information about it.

Although it was said at the time that the car will be powered by a hybrid V8 engine with more than 1,200 hp (883 kW), according to Adrian, this will not happen. Under the hood will be a naturally aspirated V10 engine (around 1,000 hp) combined with an electric motor (200 hp / 149 kW). The reason is Newey’s wish for the car to be similar to F1 cars from the 90s.

“The RB17 will summarize everything we know about creating Formula 1 championship cars into one package that will deliver extreme levels of performance in a two-seater dedicated track. Driven by our passion for performance at every level, the RB17 pushes design and technical boundaries far beyond what has previously been available to enthusiasts and collectors,” said Newey in 2022.

The car should weigh less than 1,000 kg and create a downforce of 1.7 tons at a speed of 242 km/h, while the downforce of its own weight will reach 193 km/h. Also, it should be the most aerodynamic car in history, and will have a new diffuser and multi-functional active suspension that allows the driver to change the mechanical balance of grip between both axles, making it more comfortable than an F1 car and an LMP1 race car.

Red Bull will produce only 50 examples of this car and future RB17 owners will have access to the Red Bull F1 simulator as well as track training. All this is included in the price of the hyper car, which will cost around 5 million pounds. Production will begin in 2025.

Source: Red Bull

Dacia Sandrider

The 2024 Dakar Rally ended last month, and Romanian manufacturer Dacia unveiled its vehicle for next season, the Dacia Sandrider. It is a vehicle that the team will use next year in the Ultimate T1+ class in the Dakar Rally, but also in the World Rally-Raid Championship.

The buggy is inspired by the Manifesto model that Dacia revealed two years ago. The carbon body of the racing car is placed on a tubular chassis, and experts from the British company Prodrive participated in the development of the car.

The Sandrider will have to undergo numerous tests before its first appearance scheduled at this year’s Morocco Rally, which will be run from October 5 to 11. Next season, Team Dacia will have three cars that will be used on difficult terrains around the world, and they will be driven by top rally drivers Sébastien Loeb, Cristina Gutierrez Herrero and Nasser Al-Attiyah.

When it comes to the powertrain, the Sandrider is the most powerful car in the history of Dacia. It is powered by a 3.0L biturbo V6 engine with 360 hp (268 kW) at 5,000 rpm and 398 lb-ft (539 Nm) of torque. power is sent to all wheels via a 6-speed sequential gearbox. The car is mounted on 17-inch rims wrapped in tires suitable for all types of terrain on which the Sandrider will compete.

Source: Dacia

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Germany predicts a drop in demand for EVs in 2024

In the last year, the demand for electric vehicles in Europe has been on the rise. One of the largest manufacturers, the BMW Group, achieved an increase in EV sales in 2023 by 74.4% compared to 2022. However, now the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) is predicting a drop in demand for EVs in 2024.

Of course, this does not apply to the world market, which expects a growth in demand for EVs this year as well. This could ultimately bring export growth (19 percent to 1.45 million vehicles) but also higher profits for German manufacturers.

At the end of last year, the coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz completely abolished subsidies for electric vehicles, a year earlier than previously planned. Germany will sell over 524,000 fully electric cars in 2023 – more than any other market in Europe. The predicted drop in sales this year means that the share of EVs in Germany will drop from 18 to 16 percent (about 74,000 vehicles less than in 2023).

Inflation, high prices and poor infrastructure of charging stations mostly affected demand, so many manufacturers postponed the introduction of new electric models. Even the leading car rental companies are looking for alternatives for their fleets due to the high cost of maintaining electric vehicles.

The VDA expects the German car market to drop by 1 percent to 2.82 million in 2024. At the same time, the global market is forecast to grow by 2 percent to 77.4 million cars. “Problems in the supply chain have largely been resolved, but the business environment for German carmakers remains challenging,” said VDA chief economist Manuel Kallweit.

Source: German Association of the Automotive Industry – VDA

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