According to Autocar, the team principal of the Red Bull Formula 1 team said that building a street-legal car “hasn’t been ruled out for the future.”
While it’s not unusual for a racing team’s technical developments to trickle down to the production car level, they’re usually part of an automotive group. That’s why it was intriguing when Horner stated his desire to expand Red Bull Racing’s brand outside of Formula 1. “At the moment our focus is on being a Formula 1 constructor, but as we see more technology cross over with the road car market, it’s something that will organically grow,” Horner said. Red Bull Racing’s technical director, Adrian Newey, is said to be working on a few designs.
Just a couple years ago, it looked like the result of that desire would be the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge, a high-performance prototype of the standard Q50. The jury’s still out on if the car will ever go to production.
It’s now clear that Red Bull is more keen on developing a car of its own, albeit with technical partners that may or may not be Infiniti. Considering how the Renault-supplied engines have been a point of contention between the group and the racing team, collaboration past the 2016 end of the partnership’s contract seems shaky.
In the meantime, the technology developed will find its way into Infiniti vehicles as per the partnership RBR has with the Renault-Nissan Group, of which Infiniti is a part of. Considering how the Renault-supplied engines have been a point of contention between the group and the racing team, collaboration past the 2016 end of the partnership’s contract seems shaky.
What kind of car will it be? It’s far too early to speculate, but its safe to say be it sedan, coupe, or roadster, it will most certainly be sporty, and we’re OK with that.
