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Who Makes Ilmor Engines—and Does Chevy Still Use Them in IndyCar?

Ilmor Engineering is the specialist behind Chevrolet’s IndyCar engines. Here is how the Chevrolet-Ilmor partnership works today, what the 2025 hybrid power unit includes, and what the planned 2028 formula means.
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Ilmor Engineering makes the engines commonly called Ilmor engines. Chevrolet still uses Ilmor-developed power in IndyCar: the current Chevrolet package is a 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 hybrid power unit developed through the Chevrolet-Ilmor partnership, with Honda contributing its own side of the shared hybrid system. Chevrolet and Honda are committed to IndyCar as manufacturers, and a new 2.4-liter twin-turbo V6 hybrid formula is planned for the 2028 car.

Who makes Ilmor engines?

Ilmor Engineering is an independent high-performance engine design and manufacturing company founded by Mario Illien, Paul Morgan and Roger Penske. Its original purpose was to build turbocharged engines for American IndyCar racing. General Motors funded completion of Ilmor’s first eight-cylinder turbocharged Chevrolet engine.

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Ilmor’s own history describes the company as having been formed from Illien and Morgan’s partnership with Penske to build turbocharged engines for the American-based IndyCar series. That history makes “Ilmor engine” a description of the engineering company behind the power unit, not a separate engine brand sold independently of its racing partners.

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How Chevrolet became part of the Ilmor program

Ilmor’s early IndyCar work was backed by Chevrolet through General Motors. After later racing partnerships, Ilmor reunited with Chevrolet in 2012 to develop and race a direct-injected, twin-turbocharged V6 for IndyCar.

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Ilmor’s company history reports that the 2.2-liter program had produced 64 IndyCar race wins, four drivers’ championships and six Manufacturers Series championships through the end of the 2020 season. Those figures are Ilmor’s season-summary totals, not a claim that every Chevrolet-powered victory came from an identical specification throughout that period.

Does Chevy still use Ilmor engines in IndyCar?

Yes. Chevrolet’s IndyCar program identifies its engine as a 2.2-liter, direct-injected, twin-turbocharged V6. INDYCAR’s technical description identifies the current hybrid power unit as a 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 developed collaboratively by Chevrolet (through Ilmor) and Honda (through Honda Racing Corporation).

The hybrid IndyCar power unit launched in 2025. It combines the twin-turbo V6 combustion engine with energy-recovery technology. Ilmor describes the system as a joint effort in which it partnered with Honda and Chevrolet, while Chevrolet supplies the manufacturer identity and supports its own engine program.

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The most accurate shorthand is therefore “the Chevrolet-Ilmor IndyCar engine” or “Chevrolet’s Ilmor-developed IndyCar power unit.” It is not accurate to say Chevrolet builds every engine alone, nor is it accurate to treat Ilmor as only a historical name.

What the current Chevrolet IndyCar power unit includes

Element Current Chevrolet-associated specification Who is involved
Combustion engine 2.2-liter V6 Chevrolet program engineered and manufactured with Ilmor
Forced induction Twin turbochargers Part of the IndyCar engine formula
Fuel system Direct injection Specified for Chevrolet’s 2.2-liter IndyCar engine
Hybrid equipment Energy-recovery technology integrated with the V6 Joint Chevrolet-Ilmor and Honda-HRC development
Series NTT INDYCAR SERIES Current hybrid power unit introduced in 2025

The shared hybrid development does not mean Chevrolet and Honda use the same complete engine. Each manufacturer continues to represent its own power-unit program, while the hybrid-era system was developed through collaboration between Chevrolet-Ilmor and Honda-HRC.

Chevrolet-Ilmor versus Honda-HRC

Both current IndyCar manufacturers use twin-turbocharged V6 combustion engines. The meaningful distinction is the manufacturer and engineering organization behind each program, not a different basic cylinder layout.

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Comparison point Chevrolet program Honda program
Engineering partner Ilmor Engineering Honda Racing Corporation (HRC)
Combustion architecture 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 Twin-turbo V6 under the same current IndyCar formula
Hybrid work Collaborative hybrid power-unit development with Honda Collaborative hybrid power-unit development with Chevrolet
Branding Chevrolet Honda
Performance comparison Official partnership descriptions establish roles and specifications, not a controlled head-to-head performance result

Championships, race wins and technical specifications can document a program’s history, but the partnership descriptions alone do not prove that one manufacturer’s current power unit is faster or more reliable than the other’s.

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What changes for IndyCar in 2028?

In 2026, INDYCAR announced that Chevrolet and Honda had made a multiyear commitment to remain official manufacturers. The announcement also set out a planned 2028 car using a new 2.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 engine with hybrid technology.

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The 2028 formula is commonly referred to as IR-28. Current announcements confirm Chevrolet and Honda participation under that formula, but they do not provide every final manufacturing assignment. It is therefore too early to state that Ilmor’s exact production role in the 2.4-liter engine has been finalized.

Answers to common Ilmor and Chevy questions

Are Chevy IndyCar engines made by Ilmor?

Yes. Chevrolet’s IndyCar engines are developed and manufactured through its relationship with Ilmor, which is the engineering and manufacturing partner behind the Chevrolet program.

Is the Chevy IndyCar engine an Ilmor engine?

In engineering terms, it is an Ilmor-developed Chevrolet engine. Chevrolet is the automaker and IndyCar manufacturer entrant; Ilmor supplies the specialist racing-engine design and manufacturing role.

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What engine does Chevy use in IndyCar now?

The current package is a 2.2-liter, direct-injected, twin-turbocharged V6 hybrid power unit. The hybrid system entered competition in 2025 and was developed collaboratively by Chevrolet-Ilmor and Honda-HRC.

Will Ilmor make the 2028 Chevrolet IndyCar engine?

Chevrolet’s participation in the 2028 formula is confirmed, but the available announcement does not finalize every production responsibility. Ilmor’s specific 2028 assignment should not be presented as settled until Chevrolet, Ilmor or INDYCAR publishes that detail.

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