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Hollywood Actor Matt Damon Helps IndyCar Unveil Its New Indy Car
SportsMoney Hollywood Actor Matt Damon Helps IndyCar Unveil Its New Indy Car By Bruce Martin ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I have been chasing race cars since the first Michigan 500 in 1981. Follow Author Jul 28, 2026, 11:00am EDT Jul 28, 2026, 11:15am EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary IndyCar unveiled its new IR-28 race car, including a video narrated by actor Matt Damon of "The Odyssey", promising a "Faster, Lighter and Built to Break Records" era starting in 2028. Replacing the IR-12, the Dallara-built chassis features a modernized design for enhanced wheel-to-wheel competition, improved drivability, and record-breaking speeds. Powered by Chevrolet and Honda's 2.4-liter twin-turbo V6 engines and a new, lighter hybrid system, the IR-28 is 100 pounds lighter. Its advanced aerodynamics, custom suspension, and integrated safety features, including a sleeker aeroscreen and wider cockpit, aim to deliver the safest and most exciting racing yet. Drivers like Alex Palou and Felix Rosenqvist expressed enthusiasm for the futuristic design and performance potential.
The long-awaited, highly anticipated new IndyCar has finally been revealed as the wraps have come off with a video narrated by famed Hollywood actor Matt Damon.
The announcement and video were released to the public at 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, July 28.
The new car is billed as new era “Faster, Lighter and Built to Break Records.”
It’s the IR-28 and designed to deliver faster cars with Chevrolet and Honda powerplants and promising more action and improved drivability.
It will replace the IR-12, a car that has been in IndyCar Series competition since the 2012 season. During that era, it has created some of the most competitive racing in the history of the Indianapolis 500, including this year’s battle between winner Felix Rosenqvist and David Malukas. It was the closest finish in Indy 500 history as Rosenqvist defeated Malukas by 0.0233-of-a-second in a race that featured a record 70-lead changes.
But that car and design have approached the end of its life span in terms of competition, engineering and appearance.
The new car will power IndyCar into the future.
The video narrated by Damon introduces a car with a modernized look designed to provide for faster lap times and improved raceability encouraging more wheel-to-wheel action, while also creating the safest car yet for what FOX and IndyCar term “The Fastest Racing on Earth.”
IndyCar worked with Dallara to produce the IR-28 chassis, and the new car will make its competition debut at the start of the 2028 NTT IndyCar Series championship.
The first renderings of the IR-28 were shared with the world this morning via a video narrated by Academy Award winner and star of the box office smash hit “The Odyssey,” Matt Damon.
“We are pleased to unveil renderings of the new NTT IndyCar Series chassis that will take our sport into an exciting new era,” IndyCar President J. Douglas Boles said. “As you can imagine, a project of this magnitude takes an incredible amount of planning, collaboration and execution. I would like to thank all of our partners including Dallara, Chevrolet, Honda, Firestone and Shell, who have worked tirelessly to create a package that will enhance IndyCar’s already incredible competition and industry-leading growth.
“With initial testing to begin this week, there is still plenty of work to do before 2028, but we are well on our way to showcasing a new era of IndyCar, which will include enhanced wheel-to-wheel competition, track records, standards in raceability and new benchmarks in safety. We are confident the IR-28 is the ideal package to move IndyCar forward for our teams, drivers, partners and fans.”
Dallara will continue as the sole supplier of the IndyCar chassis, continuing a long relationship with IndyCar.
“We are honored that IndyCar has chosen Dallara once again,” Dallara USA Chief Executive Officer Stefano dePonti said. “After more than a decade of partnership, their continued trust is the greatest recognition of our team’s efforts. This achievement demonstrates the dedication, expertise and collaboration of many individuals who worked tirelessly to create a car that meets today’s needs while looking toward the future. It also reflects Dallara’s ongoing commitment to investing in innovation and education, sharing the knowledge developed in motorsport with academia and beyond.”
The new car is prepared to take IndyCar’s reputation of speed and competition to another level as it builds on raceability while enhancing speeds via additional power to advance the overall racing. The IR-28 is equipped to exceed current lap times and capable of breaking track records, including at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the last track records – one-lap and four-lap qualification records – were broken in 1996 by two-time Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Arie Luyendyk.
As part of the improved raceability, the IR-28 will weigh approximately 100 pounds less than the current car. The more favorable power-to-weight ratio enhances raceability to allow drivers to push harder and deliver even more competitive racing and wheel-to-wheel action.
The design of the new NTT IndyCar Series car begins with a sleek and modern look while retaining the unmistakable DNA of past iconic series cars. The entire car is newly designed and built from the ground up, ensuring many noticeable differences from the current IndyCar.
New front and rear wings, optimized for style and efficiency, give the road and street course car an aggressive stance, while the superspeedway wing configuration provides maximum downforce with limited drag in a sleek, high-speed looking package.
For the first time ever, the car’s aerodynamic architecture has been purpose-built to optimize the wake from the front to the back in order to enhanc...
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