Remember that wild new hypercar from a company called Nilu27? The car first appeared on the radar back 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-liter V12 engine developed for the Nilu hypercar has taken its first gulp of air. Built by Hartley Engines in New Zealand, the mill has already exceeded its 1,070-horsepower goal on its initial dyno run.
It also should make a truly wicked noise, since the redline lives way up at 11,000 rpm. Have a listen for yourself, but remember this is merely an aural amuse-bouche before we hear a fully uncorked clip of the engine in action.
Nilu themselves are quite excited to see and hear the heart of the beast come to life. "I've been in the automotive and hypercar industry for more than 25 years, and I’ve never seen a brand new engine configuration fire up and run this smoothly on the first attempt," said Simon Waegner, CTO/COO of Nilu27. "The precision of the engineering and the seamless integration between our team and Hartley Engines was highly impressive. This is a massive win for our production timeline and performance targets."
So what's next for the Nilu hypercar? The engine will soon fly from New Zealand up to Nilu's R&D facilities in Germany. There it will be paired with the seven-speed gearbox and fitted into a car to serve as the first driving prototype.
Gallery: The 1,070-hp Nilu27 6.5-liter V12 Engine
Motor1's Take: Building a car from the ground up is a difficult process. It can take years, but Nilu appears to be on the right path, since the engine has become a real-deal thing rather than a bullet point in a press release.
Calling it a Hot V setup is interesting, since that's more commonly a term for turbocharged vehicles. Every V8 has a hot area between the cylinder heads, but not all of them route the exhaust manifold through that section. So for now, and considering just how awesome this engine is, we will give Nilu a pass on this one.
Now hurry up and get the powertrain into a running prototype so we can hear it screaming along at 11,000 rpm.
