- Nilu27 is developing its upcoming hypercar, which is powered by a 6.5-litre V12 engine.
- The engine, which will be built in New Zealand, produces more than 1,070 hp and spins at up to 11,000 rpm.
- Neelu calls the layout a Hot V because the exhaust manifold flows through the area between the cylinder heads. However, there are no turbochargers.
Remember that new hypercar from a company called Neelu27? The car first appeared on radar in 2024. Bold claims were made about a high-revving, naturally aspirated V12 paired with a manual gearbox. Fast forward to 2026, and some of those claims, at least, are becoming reality.
The 6.5-litre V12 engine developed for the Neelu hypercar has taken its first whiff of air. Built by Hartley Engines in New Zealand, the mill has already surpassed the 1,070-horsepower target in its initial dyno run.
It should also make some really awesome noise, as the redline stays pretty high at 11,000 rpm. Listen for yourself, but remember this is just an auditory amuse-bouche before you hear the fully uncorked clip of the engine in action.
Neelu herself is very excited to see and hear the animal’s heart coming to life. “I’ve been in the automotive and hypercar industry for over 25 years, and I’ve never seen a brand new engine configuration turn up and run smoothly on the first try,” said Simon Wagner, CTO/COO of Neelu27. “The precision of the engineering and seamless integration between our team and the Hartley engine was highly impressive. This is a huge win for our production timeline and performance goals.”
So what’s next for the Neelu hypercar? The engine will soon fly from New Zealand to Nilu’s R&D facilities in Germany. There it will be mated to a seven-speed gearbox and fitted to a car to serve as a first driving prototype.
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Source: Neelu27
motor1 tech: Building a car from the ground up is a difficult process. It may take years, but Neelu appears to be on the right track, as the engine has become a real deal thing rather than just a bullet point in a press release.
It’s interesting to call it a Hot V setup, as that’s a term commonly used for turbocharged vehicles. Every V8 has a hot area between the cylinder heads, but not all of them pass the exhaust through that section. So for now, and given how amazing this engine is, we’ll give Neelu a chance on it.
Now hurry up and get the powertrain into a working prototype so we can hear it scream at 11,000 rpm.
