Watch how Honda engineers constructed a CR-V with an IndyCar motor

Honda has shoved an IndyCar powertrain right into a CR-V Hybrid, and the automaker has launched a video displaying the way it was finished.

Known as the CR-V Hybrid Racer, the one-off construct was finished by Honda Efficiency Improvement, the motorsports unit answerable for Honda’s IndyCar engine program, and constructed at Honda’s North American Improvement Heart in Ohio by a volunteer crew of fanatic Honda staff referred to as the Honda of America Racing Crew of their spare time.

The aim of the mission was to indicate that hybrids may be enjoyable, and present what Honda’s engineers can do when there isn’t any rulebook, Hannah Westbrook, a kind of engineers, explains within the video. The CR-V Hybrid Racer additionally serves as a rolling laboratory and testbed, Honda Efficiency Improvement boss David Salters mentioned.

Nicknamed the Beast, the CR-V Hybrid Racer marries the turbocharged 2.2-liter V-6, in addition to the Xtrac 6-speed sequential transmission and rear suspension, from an IndyCar race automotive with the entrance suspension and steering from an Acura NSX GT3 race automotive. Entrance brakes are additionally NSX GT3 components, however the rear brakes are customized. All of that’s hooked up to a customized body with bodywork that is a mixture of inventory 2023 CR-V and DTM and Group B-inspired components.

Peak output is estimated at round 800 hp. A hybrid system capabilities like the present IndyCar push-to-pass system, however counting on electrical energy quite than further turbo enhance to offer a fast burst of added energy. This additionally permits for all-electric launches.

The mission took 14 months to finish, with the volunteer construct crew working nights and weekends. Integrating the carryover CR-V sheetmetal proved difficult, together with some trial and error in designing the rear clamshell part that opens to disclose the IndyCar engine. Constructed from inventory CR-V bodywork, it was initially hinged on the high, however that was later reversed.

Whereas the manufacturing CR-V Hybrid will not undertake a powertrain just like the IndyCar setup, sticking with Honda’s present efficiency-focused hybrid system, IndyCar does plan to introduce hybrid powertrains for the 2024 racing season.