(Acura images)
Acura Motorsports has unveiled the first official images and details of its all-new, electrified Acura ARX-06 prototype sports car, which will make its competition debut next January at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the season opener for the WeatherTech IMSA SportsCar Championship Series. The ARX-06 features Acura-specific bodywork and aerodynamics based around an all-new ORECA LMDh chassis. "We are HPD," David Salters, HPD President and Technical Director, commented. "We race, we develop our engineers and technology through racing. We have an amazing and unique racing legacy, both past and present. It's what we do as Acura's – and Honda's – North American racing organization. We are looking forward to the challenge of racing Porsche, BMW and GM in IMSA's pinnacle GTP championship. We are very cognizant this is a big step for us. We have a lot to learn, but that is why race." The Acura AR24e power unit was developed by Honda Performance Development. The complete hybrid power unit is based around the Acura AR24e internal combustion engine (ICE), an all-new bespoke 2.4-liter, twin-turbocharged direct injected racing V6 that was designed, developed and manufactured by HPD. At 2.4 liters, this is the smallest displacement ICE conceived by HPD for endurance racing, yet still meets the performance target of 500 kW as measured at the rear axle by torque meters. It features a 90-degree V-angle to reduce its center of gravity and polar moment of inertia. In addition, the combustion chamber has been designed to run on sustainable low-carbon fuel. The hybrid power plant includes an IMSA-specified electric Bosch Motor Generator Unit (MGU) and Williams Advanced Engineering battery pack. The MGU is contained in a common transmission casing and gearbox internals provided by Xtrac. The battery, within the chassis survival cell, is built by Williams Advanced Engineering. The HPD Electrical Group completed both hardware and software development to best match the spec MGU and battery pack to the Acura ICE. "We've taken the challenge presented by this new rule package from IMSA, and developed what we believe is a very competitive solution," said Pierre Descamps, who led HPD's powertrain design team for the ARX-06. "We've gone in a new direction for HPD in the design of the ICE. It is still a V6, which of course for Honda is well-known, but we have incorporated several new elements which we believe will make best use of the electric MGU and battery pack. Our new engine will rev to the maximum 10,000 rpm set by the rules, so it also makes a wonderful sound!"
Acura Motorsports has unveiled the first official images and details of its all-new, electrified Acura ARX-06 prototype sports car, which will make its competition debut next January at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the season opener for the WeatherTech IMSA SportsCar Championship Series. The ARX-06 features Acura-specific bodywork and aerodynamics based around an all-new ORECA LMDh chassis. "We are HPD," David Salters, HPD President and Technical Director, commented. "We race, we develop our engineers and technology through racing. We have an amazing and unique racing legacy, both past and present. It's what we do as Acura's – and Honda's – North American racing organization. We are looking forward to the challenge of racing Porsche, BMW and GM in IMSA's pinnacle GTP championship. We are very cognizant this is a big step for us. We have a lot to learn, but that is why race." The Acura AR24e power unit was developed by Honda Performance Development. The complete hybrid power unit is based around the Acura AR24e internal combustion engine (ICE), an all-new bespoke 2.4-liter, twin-turbocharged direct injected racing V6 that was designed, developed and manufactured by HPD. At 2.4 liters, this is the smallest displacement ICE conceived by HPD for endurance racing, yet still meets the performance target of 500 kW as measured at the rear axle by torque meters. It features a 90-degree V-angle to reduce its center of gravity and polar moment of inertia. In addition, the combustion chamber has been designed to run on sustainable low-carbon fuel. The hybrid power plant includes an IMSA-specified electric Bosch Motor Generator Unit (MGU) and Williams Advanced Engineering battery pack. The MGU is contained in a common transmission casing and gearbox internals provided by Xtrac. The battery, within the chassis survival cell, is built by Williams Advanced Engineering. The HPD Electrical Group completed both hardware and software development to best match the spec MGU and battery pack to the Acura ICE. "We've taken the challenge presented by this new rule package from IMSA, and developed what we believe is a very competitive solution," said Pierre Descamps, who led HPD's powertrain design team for the ARX-06. "We've gone in a new direction for HPD in the design of the ICE. It is still a V6, which of course for Honda is well-known, but we have incorporated several new elements which we believe will make best use of the electric MGU and battery pack. Our new engine will rev to the maximum 10,000 rpm set by the rules, so it also makes a wonderful sound!"
(Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Last Sunday at Michigan, Kevin Harvick broke a 65-race drought. Now the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford has a two-race winning streak. Chased by runner-up Christopher Bell (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) and third-place finisher Chris Buescher (No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford) over the closing laps, Harvick threaded his way through traffic to win Sunday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway by 0.441 seconds. The NASCAR Cup Series victory was Harvick’s fourth at the 0.75-mile short track — his first there since 2013 — and the 60th of his career, tying him with Kyle Busch for most among active drivers and ninth all-time. Harvick led twice for 55 laps, passing eventual sixth-place finisher Joey Logano for the lead on Lap 334 and regaining it from Denny Hamlin on Lap 353 at the end of a cycle of green-flag pit stops. “It’s like I said last week, the cars have been running good week-in and week-out,” Harvick said, “And you see that we have a lot better understanding of what’s going on with how we adjusted on the car after the first run and were able to get our car handling a lot better. I think as it got dark, the race track really came to our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang.” Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service)
Last Sunday at Michigan, Kevin Harvick broke a 65-race drought. Now the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford has a two-race winning streak. Chased by runner-up Christopher Bell (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) and third-place finisher Chris Buescher (No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford) over the closing laps, Harvick threaded his way through traffic to win Sunday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway by 0.441 seconds. The NASCAR Cup Series victory was Harvick’s fourth at the 0.75-mile short track — his first there since 2013 — and the 60th of his career, tying him with Kyle Busch for most among active drivers and ninth all-time. Harvick led twice for 55 laps, passing eventual sixth-place finisher Joey Logano for the lead on Lap 334 and regaining it from Denny Hamlin on Lap 353 at the end of a cycle of green-flag pit stops. “It’s like I said last week, the cars have been running good week-in and week-out,” Harvick said, “And you see that we have a lot better understanding of what’s going on with how we adjusted on the car after the first run and were able to get our car handling a lot better. I think as it got dark, the race track really came to our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang.” Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service)
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