Wild 600kW Honda CR-V Hybrid Racer unleashed

Honda USA has previewed the advanced high-performance hybrid race engine that will power its 2024 IndyCar racer by slotting it under the bonnet of the latest sixth-generation Honda CR-V.

The result is a wild SUV that is officially called the Honda CR-V Hybrid Racer, but has been nicknamed HPD Beast (Honda Performance Development) by the engineers who created the unhinged track-focused take on the usually family-friendly Honda mid-size SUV.

Dumping the regular Honda CR-V’s 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine, the HPD CR-V is described by its makers as a “rolling electrified laboratory” and comes equipped with the same 2.2-litre twin-turbocharged electrified V6 and transmission as the Honda IndyCar that will compete in 2024.

The alterations don’t stop there.

Instead of being based on the CR-V’s regular platform, the HPD Beast sits on a bespoke steel tube chassis.

That explains how the body is so wildly different from standard, packing ultra-wide flared fenders, a gaping front air dam and numerous wind-bending aids that include a huge rear wing.

There are even a pair of Lamborghini-aping butterfly doors.

With the lower half made entirely of lightweight carbon-fibre, only above the beltline do you find the bits borrowed from the humble Honda wagon, including the front windscreen and even the sunroof.

Developed to run on renewable fuels, initially the 2.2-litre will produce an incredible 800bhp (597kW) but further enhancements will see it bored out to 2.4-litre. The final electrified V6 will then produce nearer 900bhp (671kW) in race trim.

Ensuring the beastly CR-V isn’t all about straight-line performance, Honda has transplanted the front suspension from its latest NSX GT3 racer, while the rear suspension is lifted straight off the IndyCar it currently races.

All designed, developed and engineered by Honda USA’s design and engineering R&D hub, with plenty of input from the factory-backed race team, the Honda CR-V Hybrid Racer will make its debut at the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg in Florida on March 3.

Commenting on its development, Honda motorsport’s boss David Salters said: “This project vehicle is an IndyCar ‘beast’ in Honda CR-V ‘sheep’s clothing’.

“The CR-V Hybrid Racer is our ‘rolling electrified laboratory’ to investigate where the talented men and women of HPD and Honda could go with electrification, hybrid technology and 100 per cent renewable fuels.”

Unveiled last year, the sixth-gen Honda CR-V will land here later this year when it will be available with a new petrol-electric hybrid model.

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