Honda And Acura Want To Make Your Daily Driver Feel Like A Race Car
Car enthusiasts generally fall into two camps: purists and creatives. The former prefer OEM automotive toys, and the latter like putting a touch of their own personality into their rides. In all honesty, though, the success of M Performance Parts options on Bimmers, the ability of Polestar to go from tuner to automaker, and the recent launch of Ford Custom Garage packages at SEMA 2024 all prove that there’s an even bigger fanbase of car lovers that want a middle ground.
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Acura
Launched in the mid-1980s, Acura is to Honda what Lexus is to Toyota. Honda created it with the intention of penetrating the North American market and has never sold its Ohio-made cars in Japan, although this was a consideration before the 200-2008 financial crisis. Shortly after its birth in 1986, the automaker quickly became a thorn in the sides of premium automakers like Mercedes-Benz and BMW. In America, the Honda NSX was sold with an Acura badge, and that’s a great relation for affordable everyday heroes like the Integra Type S.
- Founded
- March 27, 1986
- Founder
- Soichiro Honda
- Headquarters
- Torrance, CA, USA
- Owned By
- American Honda Motor Company
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Honda
Japanese automaker Honda rose from the ashes of WWII and set about its business as a manufacturer of motorcycles initially, only launching its first car, the T360 kei truck, in 1963. Founder Soichiro Honda targeted the American market as the most important nut to crack, leading to generations of iconic nameplates like the Civic and Accord being among America’s best-selling passenger cars. Today, Hondas are renowned for their safety, practicality, and reliability, with a sprinkling of performance from models like the Civic Type R.
- Founded
- 24 September 1948
- Founder
- Soichiro Honda
- Headquarters
- Hamamatsu, Japan
- Owned By
- Publicly Traded
Gearheads often seek the style and performance offered by the aftermarket but aren’t willing to risk the warranties, overall reliability, and resale value of an untouched and well-kept car. To that end, and mostly thanks to the overwhelmingly positive response to the stunning Acura Integra Type S concept revealed at Monterey Car Week earlier this year, Honda and Acura are starting a new tuning business.
Authentic Performance Parts From Race Engineers
The new business is being set up under the Honda Racing Corporation banner and will develop genuine performance parts for both Honda and Acura vehicles. These parts will be developed by “championship-winning HRC engineers.” Unfortunately, HRC doesn’t specify which championships it’s referring to, and no names of engineers are listed yet either. This is just an announcement at this point, and it mentions that “HRC US has been winning races and championships on and off-road for three decades.” That could mean anything from Formula 1 to Baja, but we suspect that at least some of the Integra Type S HRC Prototype will reach production. It’s not the only cool car that could come to life, though (more on that later).
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Nine different vehicles are on display at HRC’s SEMA 2024 stand, and it’s lovely to see such extensive OEM participation this year, from numerous automakers. Among them are the Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 Formula 1 car, the electrified Acura ARX-06 endurance IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar GTP Championship prototype that recently won the iconic 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race, and the 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 Honda IndyCar. You may recall that Honda crammed this engine into a CR-V last year, and that’s on show, too, alongside the Honda Ridgeline Baja Race Truck, the Integra Type S DE5 Race Car that achieved fifth in its class at Pikes Peak this year, and the HRC Honda Civic Type R Pace Car.
That’s An Interesting Family Car (Or Two) You Have There, Honda
There’s also a fantastic take on the Honda Pilot, a vehicle renowned for its exceptional safety scores, outstanding reliability, and general practicality. A three-row family hauler isn’t usually found on a tuner’s vehicle lift, but “HRC plans to produce both on- and off-road performance parts, with the Pilot demonstrating possible off-road equipment.” That’s far from confirmation that the HRC Pilot Prototype you see here will make production; the upgrades are “experimental products,” says Honda, before adding that they’re meant to show what the Pilot can do “while providing some food for thought.” Off-road accessories are more likely to reach real-world cars before an IndyCar engine swap, or even an upgraded Integra.
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Just before the show, and completely separate from HRC’s new tuner business, Bisimoto also presented a Honda-based build, this time looking to an electric future. The 2024 Honda Prologue you see below has been outfitted with a roof rack and box, Brixton Forged TR09 22×9.5-inch wheels in Toyo rubber, NAB.Visual Design graphics, and a custom yoke. If you’re not into slammed cars, you may find the universal air suspension system and its Airlift controller a little more controversial than the odd wheel, but the point is to show that tuning and personalization will live on no matter what we ferry ourselves around in. Long live the SEMA show.
