It would be incredible for that to be true, but this is simply a learning exercise for Honda and a way for the brand to get folks excited about future electrification. Considering the massive amount of downforce generated by the huge wings and winglets, Pikes Peak sounds like a great proving ground for competition.Īs for what it means for production Hondas and the CR-V specifically, don’t start thinking that Honda is cooking up a CR-V Type R with hybrid assist and a high-performance engine. There aren’t any plans to take the CR-V Hybrid Racer to actual racing events as of now, but HPD President David Salters didn’t rule it out. But given the excessive amount of horsepower, its top speed should be rather high when ungoverned. Top speed is limited to what felt like low triple digits for now - Honda only put about 215 testing miles on the car before giving journalists a rip around this racetrack. The hybrid portion of this powertrain is its real party trick, and while it’s difficult to separate its usefulness from the Ind圜ar engine without driving it myself, I can say that it hauls ass in the straight sections around Putnam Park Road Course. It’s not easy doing so, either, but it wouldn’t be a race car if you didn’t look a little foolish trying to get into your seat. That includes butterfly half doors that allow folks to climb in and out. The windshield and greenhouse are from a CR-V, but a whole lot of unique bodywork wraps around the rest of it. This project is built on a chromoly tube frame chassis and uses suspension from the NSX GT-3 car and Dallara Ind圜ar. Of course, what’s keeping this CR-V flat and stable through corners has nothing to do with an actual CR-V. Two-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen drove it at an earlier date, and apparently, he rather enjoyed how fun it was to drive. The CR-V stays flat, but it’s also incredibly playful and fun for a driver to toy with throughout a corner and on exit. It’d be far quicker on slicks, but just like so much else about this car, it’s all about the optics.Īs a result of the somewhat tame rubber, though, the ultimate cornering grip isn’t as ridiculous as you’d expect. Honda went with street tires, since they allow for easier show-boating and sideways antics - a number of Ind圜ar races this year will see the CR-V Racer take parade laps. Interestingly, Honda fitted street-appropriate rubber to this monster of a CR-V - it has Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 summer tires sized 285-section-width in front and 305s in the rear. Love the silent, electric pull away, and then the Ind圜ar engine firing up partway down the pit lane. From the passenger side, they feel rather effective, and though the Honda Performance Development test driver was yelling about them getting a little hot before we set off, he sent it hard anyway. Honda yanked the front brakes off of the Acura NSX GT-3 Evo22 racecar, and the rear brakes were adapted from the Dallara IR-18 Ind圜ar suspension. We quickly reach cruising speed, and then it’s on to those massive Brembo brakes. The reverb and acoustics of the SUV body style create a chamber of sound inside the cabin that any Ind圜ar fan would gush over - just remember your hearing protection. I do mean ferociously, as this CR-V is loud and not for the faint-hearted. Combined with Skeleton Supercapacitors and Empel MGU hybrid motor technology, it makes an eye-watering 800 horsepower.Īccelerating out onto the track, I’m pinned back in my seat as the familiar sound of an Ind圜ar ferociously tickles my eardrums. Inside this mid-engine “ CR-V” is about as close as I’ll get to the driver’s seat of an Indy car, though, as that noise behind me is emanating from the 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 that Honda supplies to the series. I’m at Putnam Park Roadcourse, just a 45-minute drive outside of Indianapolis, and one day out from witnessing the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500. This is the Honda CR-V Hybrid Racer - nicknamed “The Beast” by Honda - and it is one seriously wild engineering exercise. Halfway down pitlane, a massive jolt kicks me in the back, and the sound of a million bees starts buzzing away. The driver engages first gear, steps into the throttle, and silently pulls away.
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