Hollywood Actor Matt Damon Helps IndyCar Unveil Its New Indy Car

The caller IR-28 IndyCar instrumentality that will statesman title successful 2028.

IndyCar Photo

The long-awaited, highly anticipated caller IndyCar has yet been revealed arsenic the wraps person travel disconnected pinch a video narrated by famed Hollywood character Matt Damon.

The announcement and video were released to the nationalist astatine 11 a.m. Eastern Time connected Tuesday, July 28.

The caller car is billed arsenic caller era “Faster, Lighter and Built to Break Records.”

It’s the IR-28 and designed to present faster cars pinch Chevrolet and Honda powerplants and promising much action and improved drivability.

It will switch the IR-12, a car that has been successful IndyCar Series title since the 2012 season. During that era, it has created immoderate of the astir competitory racing successful the history of the Indianapolis 500, including this year’s conflict betwixt victor Felix Rosenqvist and David Malukas. It was the closest decorativeness successful Indy 500 history arsenic Rosenqvist defeated Malukas by 0.0233-of-a-second successful a title that featured a grounds 70-lead changes.

But that car and creation person approached the extremity of its life span successful position of competition, engineering and appearance.

The caller car will powerfulness IndyCar into the future.

IndyCar And Hollywood Come Together

The video narrated by Damon introduces a car pinch a modernized look designed to supply for faster thigh times and improved raceability encouraging much wheel-to-wheel action, while besides creating the safest car yet for what FOX and IndyCar word “The Fastest Racing connected Earth.”

IndyCar worked pinch Dallara to nutrient the IR-28 chassis, and the caller car will make its title debut astatine the commencement of the 2028 NTT IndyCar Series championship.

The first renderings of the IR-28 were shared pinch the world this greeting via a video narrated by Academy Award victor and prima of the container agency smash deed “The Odyssey,” Matt Damon.

“We are pleased to unveil renderings of the caller NTT IndyCar Series chassis that will return our athletics into an breathtaking caller era,” IndyCar President J. Douglas Boles said. “As you tin imagine, a task of this magnitude takes an unthinkable magnitude of planning, collaboration and execution. I would for illustration to convey each of our partners including Dallara, Chevrolet, Honda, Firestone and Shell, who person worked tirelessly to create a package that will heighten IndyCar’s already unthinkable title and industry-leading growth.

“With first testing to statesman this week, location is still plentifulness of activity to do earlier 2028, but we are good connected our measurement to showcasing a caller era of IndyCar, which will see enhanced wheel-to-wheel competition, way records, standards successful raceability and caller benchmarks successful safety. We are assured the IR-28 is the perfect package to move IndyCar guardant for our teams, drivers, partners and fans.”

Dallara will proceed arsenic the sole supplier of the IndyCar chassis, continuing a agelong narration pinch IndyCar.

“We are honored that IndyCar has chosen Dallara erstwhile again,” Dallara USA Chief Executive Officer Stefano dePonti said. “After much than a decade of partnership, their continued spot is the top nickname of our team’s efforts. This accomplishment demonstrates the dedication, expertise and collaboration of galore individuals who worked tirelessly to create a car that meets today’s needs while looking toward the future. It besides reflects Dallara’s ongoing committedness to investing successful invention and education, sharing the knowledge developed successful motorsport pinch academia and beyond.”

Built To Increased Competition And Set Track Records

The caller car is prepared to return IndyCar’s estimation of velocity and title to different level arsenic it builds connected raceability while enhancing speeds via further powerfulness to beforehand the wide racing. The IR-28 is equipped to transcend existent thigh times and tin of breaking way records, including astatine Indianapolis Motor Speedway, wherever the past way records – one-lap and four-lap qualification records – were surgery successful 1996 by two-time Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge victor Arie Luyendyk.

As portion of the improved raceability, the IR-28 will measurement astir 100 pounds little than the existent car. The much favorable power-to-weight ratio enhances raceability to let drivers to push harder and present moreover much competitory racing and wheel-to-wheel action.

New Car Design

The creation of the caller NTT IndyCar Series car originates pinch a sleek and modern look while retaining the unmistakable DNA of past iconic bid cars. The full car is recently designed and built from the crushed up, ensuring galore noticeable differences from the existent IndyCar.

New beforehand and rear wings, optimized for style and efficiency, springiness the roadworthy and thoroughfare people car an fierce stance, while the superspeedway helping configuration provides maximum downforce pinch constricted resistance successful a sleek, high-speed looking package.

For the first clip ever, the car’s aerodynamic architecture has been purpose-built to optimize the aftermath from the beforehand to the backmost successful bid to heighten overtaking opportunities. Additional benefits of the 2028 creation see reduced outwash and, for Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a much aerodynamically unchangeable speedway beforehand wing.

The IR-28 aeroscreen, designed into the improvement of the car, is lighter, sleeker and much aerodynamic – supporting safety, much raceability and giving the IR-28 a combatant pitchy look and feel.

Each bodywork constituent has been designed to consequence successful moreover person on-track title arsenic the caller aerodynamics will let cars to travel much intimately successful corners and passim the field.

Also, for the driver, the caller car will characteristic electronically controlled driver adjustable anti-roll bars, which will supply for enhanced tuning and raceability while cleaning up the cockpit by eliminating modular knobs and handles, thus, besides improving driver safety.

Additional updates for the IR-28 see the preamble of the Custom AXIS Inertance Control Suspension System. Built astir a lightweight, shared damping architecture, the AXIS level expands spring, damper and inverter tuning options without expanding costs. Its highly tunable, multimode creation improves mechanical grip done suspension optimization, reducing reliance connected aerodynamic load while giving teams important setup flexibility.

The NTT IndyCar Series is the only awesome motorsports title to licence some beforehand and rear third-element inertance systems, making the IR-28 1 of the astir precocious suspension platforms successful modern motorsport.

From a instrumentality and commercialized perspective, the caller car will characteristic a integer car position show showing the position of the car successful practice, qualifying and races and a unsocial transparent model successful the motor cover, which will item Chevrolet, Honda and immoderate further manufacture branding. Design updates for 2028 besides see much visible aboveground areas for bid and squad sponsorship.

Advances To the 2028 Powerplant

Previously announced, the powerfulness for the caller 2028 NTT IndyCar Series machinery will beryllium provided by 2.4-liter twin-turbocharged V6 soul combustion engines tin of producing up to 760 horsepower. Chevrolet and Honda person committed to participate nether the caller motor formula, which will present accrued torque, powerfulness and wide capacity compared to the existent procreation of IndyCar engines.

“Everyone astatine Chevrolet is looking guardant to this adjacent era of the NTT IndyCar Series and the debut of the IR-28 successful 2028,” GM Vice President of Global Motorsports Competition Eric Warren said. “This caller car builds connected much than a decade of collaboration pinch INDYCAR, and we’re assured the caller 2.4-liter, twin-turbo V6 motor will present the performance, sound and excitement IndyCar fans expect from Team Chevy — the aforesaid modular that has produced 16 shaper championships and 13 Indianapolis 500 victories.”

David Salters is Honda Racing Corporation USA President and gave his thoughts connected the caller package.

“For much than 30 years, Honda has built upon its racing practice arsenic a cardinal partner of the NTT IndyCar Series, and we are excited to statesman this adjacent section pinch the IR-28 powered by our caller American-made HRC V6 Hybrid powertrain,” Salters said. "IndyCar delivers immoderate of the champion racing connected the planet, and this improvement of the look creates caller opportunities to heighten it—a lighter car, a much powerful hybrid powertrain, an moreover safer chassis and breathtaking chassis, and aerodynamic engineering challenges for our Honda associates and teams.

“Together, these advancements will thief usher IndyCar into a caller era. Honda is proud to beryllium portion of that future, supported by the semipermanent committedness we made to the bid earlier this year. We can’t hold to spot the IR-28 connected way entertaining our IndyCar fans.”

A New And Improved Hybrid Unit

Low-voltage hybrid exertion evolves successful 2028 and beyond pinch greater powerfulness storage, much deployment options for teams and a package that is astir 20 pounds lighter than the erstwhile IndyCar Series powerfulness unit. The important capacity advancement and deployment variability will beryllium provided done a caller business pinch UK-based Helix, a world leader successful next-generation solutions successful building and delivering electrical thrust systems.

With a customer database that has included teams successful FIA Formula One and FIA Formula E, and track-proven invention that drives the hypercars of tomorrow, Helix’s hybrid creation for the NTT IndyCar Series remains packaged wrong the bellhousing – located betwixt the combustion motor and the gearbox.

The caller hybrid level will characteristic the first battery-based Energy Storage System (ESS) successful NTT IndyCar Series history, supplied by BOLD Technology, selected by IndyCar for the program. Headquartered astatine the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and expanding its U.S. operations successful Michigan, BOLD develops precocious artillery systems for Formula One, aerospace and defense applications. Its ESS for the IR-28 delivers astir 14 times the power retention capacity of the existent supercapacitor-based strategy – giving drivers and teams acold greater elasticity successful erstwhile and really they deploy hybrid powerfulness – while contributing to the lighter, safer powerfulness portion package, engineered and qualified to the astir stringent motorsport information standards.

Xtrac, an exclusive supplier for IndyCar since 2000 and a Helix associate, is providing transmissions for the caller chassis. Development includes a gearbox that sheds 25 pounds from the existent unit.

Safety Evolution

While the IR-28 provides quicker thigh times, accrued speeds and will let for much on-track action, it besides is designed to support drivers safer than ever. From the aeroscreen to the rotation hoop to side-impact structures, the caller car seamlessly integrates caller information and creation advancements into its halfway architecture.

Built to transcend IndyCar aliases FIA specifications, whichever is much stringent, the caller chassis delivers measurable information improvements complete the existent car, including:

• Driver cockpit: The chassis features wider soul dimensions to accommodate a greater scope of driver heights and assemblage types.

• The IR-28 besides features enhanced soul airflow and driver cooling for improved comfortableness and performance.
• Side effect protection: Decades worthy of title and incident evaluations – including chassis additions – person created a chassis that features stronger, much businesslike side-structure creation providing accrued power absorption successful high-impact situations.
• Crash dynamics: Improved stableness pinch a earthy inclination to stay grounded during “nose-up,” sliding aliases spinning incidents.

An extended first testing schedule for the caller IR-28 will see a assortment of circuits and layouts from Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s roadworthy people and famed oval, Sebring International Raceway and more. Testing schedules and media availabilities will beryllium provided astatine later dates.

Positive Feedback From IndyCar Drivers

Reaction from the IndyCar paddock regarding the caller car is affirmative because they are excited astir yet getting thing caller to race.

“Seeing the car for the first clip made maine moreover much excited astir wherever IndyCar is going,” said four-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion and 2025 Indianapolis 500 victor Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing. “The creation is ace cool and feels for illustration a due adjacent measurement for the bid while still looking for illustration an IndyCar Series car. I deliberation the fans are going to emotion it, and arsenic a driver I cannot hold to get down the wheel.

“The astir important point is that we support the close, nosy racing that makes IndyCar special, and from what I’ve seen, we’re heading successful a really bully direction.”

This year’s Indianapolis 500 winner, Rosenqvist, besides expressed a affirmative guidance to the caller car.

“There is simply a ‘wow’ factor,” Rosenqvist said. “The first point that struck maine is that it has much room successful the cockpit and will fresh otherwise sized drivers, which is really good.

“Secondly, it decidedly has the IndyCar DNA, which was a interest for maine that it wouldn’t look for illustration an IndyCar car. This decidedly does. It besides has an fierce look pinch an integrated aeroscreen and a car that addresses a batch of small tweaks that drivers person asked for. Dallara has delivered connected almost everything. I’m ace excited for the future.”

Alexander Rossi, driver of the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet for ECR, believes the caller car delivers what the IndyCar Series drivers wanted.

“The car is awesome,” Rossi said. “We each wanted a new, modern-day car that is lighter and looks futuristic and accelerated but still has each of the unthinkable information advancements that IndyCar is known for. This does each of those things.

“There are still a batch of things to activity done successful position of on-track testing and really it reacts to the different types of environments it will beryllium exposed to, but from a ocular standpoint, it’s incredible. This is thing group will beryllium excited about.”

IndyCar is astir to participate the early and it will do truthful successful Hollywood style pinch the IR-28.