The next era of engines for the NTT IndyCar Series officially took to the track for the first time Monday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
The 2.4-liter twin-turbo V6 engine, set for a 2024 series launch, were without the much-anticipated hybrid component for the test and were forced to run alternators from the current 2.2-liter V6 twin-turbo powerplant.
Cold temperatures halted any running until the afternoon at the 2.6-mile, 13-turn circuit. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon piloted the Honda car, while Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden occupied the cockpit for Chevrolet.
“This is an important step for HPD, Honda and IndyCar as the series moves into the electrified era, and it was a successful day,” said David Salters, HPD president and technical director, “but there are many more steps to take before the full, hybrid power unit debuts in 2024. The all new 2.4-liter E85 bio-fueled engine has been designed, simulated, developed, dyno-tested, manufactured and assembled by the inspiring Honda men and women at HPD in California. ..
“There is still a very, very long list of things to be accomplished before the power unit is tested in competition, but this is certainly a major milestone for everyone at Honda Performance Development”
New engine. New sound. Even more power.
The all new 2.4-liter E85 bio-fueled @Honda engine has been developed fully in-house by the inspiring men and women at HPD in California to power @IndyCar into the future.#PoweredByHonda // #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/68mgyh9yjR
— Honda Racing US (@HondaRacing_US) March 28, 2022
According to a release from HPD, “Dixon and the Ganassi team completed the full list of opening-day test items prepared by HPD engineers without any issues.”
No lap times were made public due to it being a closed test.
There is another day of testing scheduled for Tuesday, with the forecasts calling for slightly warmer temperatures.
