Hello, HRC: Honda’s Performance Division Is Heating Up
In the performance-car news that is coming out of what is expected to be an unexpectedly lively SEMA show this year (November 5-8, as always in Las Vegas), Honda HRC—that’s Honda Racing Corporation—will announce a new business to develop authentic performance parts for retail Honda and Acura consumers.
Honda’s performance-parts arm used to be called Honda Performance Division, or HPD, and the company did offer some parts under that name, but this announcement seems to take the division in a new and upwards direction by putting it under the same banner as Honda uses to compete in various disciplines of professional racing. The name change of the aftermarket performance division, from HPD to HRC, was announced a year ago, but this upcoming announcement seems to be its first real initiative. Prototype parts are expected to be ready for testing as early as next year.
Honda declares that “new HRC performance parts developed by championship-winning HRC engineers” will soon be available, as the company tries to draw a clearer line between its racing success and its performance business. Nine HRC vehicles will be displayed at the SEMA show, including the Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 Formula 1 car.
This is what Honda says about the HRC’s future: “HRC has decided to move forward with the creation of new lines of authentic performance parts specifically for retail consumers in North America. These new parts will leverage the technical knowledge and expertise of championship-winning HRC race engineers with the first prototypes expected to be ready as early as next year. As a hugely successful racing brand for years, HRC US is uniquely positioned to offer parts for customers to enhance the performance of their own Honda and Acura vehicles.”
Says Jon Ikeda, senior vice president of the group: “HRC US has been winning races and championships on and off road for three decades, and we’re excited to apply this experience to new lines of performance parts for Honda and Acura enthusiasts eager to augment their performance driving experience. To be an HRC genuine part, it must meet our exacting standards, while functionally improving vehicle performance and the driving experience.”
This is not to say Honda has been underserved by the performance market these past few decades, by products sold by established aftermarket companies like Mishimoto, AKR Performance, and Skunk2 Racing. Those companies likely shuddered a bit when this announcement was made: It’s bound to cut into their Honda business at least a little.
Besides Max Verstappen’s F1 car, here are the HRC display models that will be shown at SEMA:
• Acura ARX-06, which competed in the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar GTP Championship hybrid-powered GTP category and recently claimed victory at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
• Honda IndyCar, which powered Alex Palou to his second drivers’ championship in a row and his third title in the last four years.
• Honda Ridgeline Baja Race Truck, which has four class wins in the Baja 1000 and five class wins in the Baja 500.
• Honda CR-V Hybrid Racer, “Known as ‘an IndyCar wolf in CR-V clothing,’ the CR-V Hybrid Racer is a rolling electrified laboratory used to investigate where HRC can go with hybrid technology and 100 percent renewable fuels.” The Hybrid Racer has a 2.2-liter twin-turbo hybrid Honda V-6 IndyCar engine under the body of a Honda CR-V.
• Acura Integra Type S HRC Prototype, which “builds upon the dynamic capabilities of the most powerful, best performing Integra ever to deliver ultimate street and track performance for Acura enthusiast customers to enjoy on their own Integras.”
• Acura Integra Type S DE5 Race Car “is designed, developed, and assembled inside Honda’s state-of-the-art North American facilities and sold directly to racers. The competition version of the Integra Type S participates in the top class of SRO TC America racing where it won six races in its debut season.”
• HRC Honda Civic Type R Pace Car, the latest in a series of Honda Pace Cars utilized for IndyCar competition since 2006.
• Honda Pilot HRC Prototype: HRC plans to produce both on- and off-road performance parts for the Pilot demonstrating possible off-road equipment. The HRC Pilot Prototype is fitted with HRC-designed experimental products that are intended to increase the Pilot’s capabilities.
• And for SEMA in 2025, the new Honda Accord NASCAR Cup car. Just kidding! But there are rumors, and with Honda’s new focus on North America, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
If you’re lucky enough to go to SEMA this year, check out the HRC display in the southeast corner of Central Hall, booth number 24789 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
