IndyCar teams receive order forms for IR-28 chassis

Penske Entertainment took an important step late last month with the distribution of order forms to teams for the 2028 Dallara IR28 chassis.

The form called for orders to be placed this week with a 30 percent payment for each chassis. More than 100 Dallara IR28s are expected to be produced before the end of the decade.

“We sent everyone an order form for Dallara, and details on all the components, and asked them to get their orders in so that they can start getting that in place,” IndyCar president Doug Boles told RACER.

“We’re aiming, with the first car deliveries, [to] do that in the summer. So call it no later than the very first of July, but I'm hoping it's June. Each team will receive one car at exactly the same time, and then there’s another plan for the second cars and so on.”

Distribution of the order forms brings an answer to the long-awaited question of how much the IR28 will cost. In recent years, some team owners have feared the price for a complete car from Dallara would far exceed the roughly $1.05 million required to buy one of today’s DW12 models.

A high of $1.5 million was predicted by a handful of owners, and based on what RACER has learned, the total cost to acquire an IR28 is anticipated to be nearly identical to the DW12 at $1.1 million apiece.

The cost of a rolling IR28 chassis is understood to be $650,000, and with all of the other components added in to race at the array of road courses, street courses, and different types of ovals, the entire package prior to adding the powertrain combines to reach approximately $1.1 million per car.

With the majority of Dallara’s racecar production taking place at its primary facility in Italy, U.S. import tariffs are projected to add $50,000 or more to the final price of every IR28.