Honda CR-V Hybrid Racer: the HPD Beast unleashed

Family-friendly, affordable and comfortable are among the many words that could describe the Honda CR-V, but sporty was never one of them.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) has now changed that with its latest creation: the wild CR-V Hybrid Racer.

HPD calls this steroid-injected Honda CR-V the “HPD Beast”, although its more formal description is an “electrified rolling laboratory to explore how far the talented HPD and Honda team can push electrification, hybrid technology and renewable fuels”.

Honda CR-V Hybrid Racer: a cut-and-shut creation

Beneath the bodywork of the latest-generation CR-V - which has yet to arrive in Europe - sits a 2.2-litre twin-turbo hybrid racing V6. It is the same engine Honda will use in IndyCar from 2024.

While the production CR-V places its engine at the front, the CR-V Hybrid Racer installs it behind the driver, in a mid-rear position. It runs on Shell’s 100% renewable fuel, made from sugar-cane waste ethanol and other biofuels.

Supercapacitor hybrid power and racing hardware

The electric motor, meanwhile, draws its energy from a Skeleton Technologies supercapacitor, a solution comparable to that used by the Lamborghini Sián. Although supercapacitors cannot retain as much energy as a battery, they can release it far more quickly, making them particularly suitable for high-performance vehicles such as this CR-V Hybrid Racer.

HPD has not provided precise figures, but says output is around 800 hp. Power reaches the rear wheels through a six-speed Xtrac paddle-shift gearbox.

To make the most effective use of the hybrid powertrain’s performance, the CR-V receives the front suspension from the Acura NSX GT-3 and adapted rear suspension from the IndyCar Dallara IR-18.

Braking is handled by Brembo. The 380 mm-diameter front discs are inherited from the Acura NSX GT-3, while the 355 mm rear discs are unique items designed to fit the adapted rear suspension from Dallara’s IndyCar single-seater.

A Honda CR-V above the beltline

Honda says that, above the beltline, this is a CR-V just like any other: the windscreen and cabin volume are identical to those of the production model.

Below the beltline, however, the CR-V Hybrid Racer is entirely different. This “monster” features a tubular chassis, while the lower section of its bodywork is made from carbon fibre.

Honda has not yet disclosed any performance details for this “asphalt Frankenstein”, but the specifications and limited figures released so far suggest they should be impressive.