Honda’s LMDh is officially unveiled

When FIA and ACO presented the definitive regulation of the Hypercar category and shortly after they announced the convergence with IMSA to create the LMDh categorysuccessor in part to its current DPi, many of us began to dream of seeing European brands like Toyota, Peugeot or the future additions of Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghinicompeting in the 24 hours of Daytona or the 6 hours of Sebring, while we could to see American brands like Cadillac o Acura competing in the 24 Le Manscreating a premier class with many manufacturers fighting for victory in the best races in the world.

On that American flank, some time ago Cadillac has already made a move by showing us a first look at its new LMDh with which they confirmed they will compete both in IMSA and in the 24 hours of Le Mans. and soon after Acura, an American subsidiary of Slingthe one that moves the tab by officially showing us and with its technical details the Acura ARX-06, an LMDh that will compete in the GTP category, the new queen division of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2023.

General characteristics of the Acura ARX-06

Its name is an acronym for Acura Racing eXperimental Generation 6, which means it is the sixth and last member of a long saga of prototypes with which Acura has participated in Endurance races. In fact, these first two images as a teaser that try to play distraction, without much success, with a camouflage typical of a pre-production prototype, it is not very different from the DPi model with which the brand has competed in recent years. in the IMSA Championship with some curious sharp headlights with a horizontal point under which there are two huge air channels.

However, as is happening with the recent Hypercar and LMDh competitions that are joining this new era of resistance, we see a wider, lower and more aggressive model, with a shark fin attached to its rear wing. A design that has been carried out by the Acura Design Studio in Los Angeles, California, at the headquarters of Honda Performance Developmentfrom which he also leaves, for example Alex Palou’s Indycar.

Acura

“The process we use to create the exterior design of the Acura ARX-06 is exactly the same as the one we use to create a new Acura passenger car,” explains Dave Marek, Acura executive creative director. “The design continued to be refined throughout the testing and evaluation process, until we came up with a final treatment that met our performance goals while maintaining very important Acura styling cues. It has It’s been an exciting process.”

Acura

Acura ARX-06 Technical Specifications

This design is accompanied, as required by the LMDh category, by a chassis from an external partner, in this case Oreca, which has put a carbon fiber monocoque chassis and one mechanics hybrid in which the manufacturer may heat engine. Its about Acura AR24e, a new direct-injection twin-turbo 2.4-liter V6 designed developed and manufactured by Honda Performance Development. It is therefore a relatively compact combustion block, more than that of its predecessor, but which manages, together with the electrical part, to develop the 500 kW (670 hp) which by regulation must offer these LMDh. For this, the electrical part has a specific IMSA Bosh MGU for all participants and a battery pack developed by Williams Advanced Engineering. Everything is managed by an Xtrac gearbox.

In this way, hybrid mechanics and chassis work in harmony thanks to a system of ECU with Formula 1 specifications.

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Premiere at the 2023 Daytona 24 Hours

Acura

As we have been following for a couple of months, Acura has already started the development program for this model with the aim of preparing this LMDh for its debut next season in the IMSA championship, specifically in the first race of the year, the famous 24 hours of Daytona. However still it is unknown if this new Acura LMDh will also participate in the 24 hours of Le Mans, as is its rival Cadillac and the rest of the European brands that promise to turn the 2023 edition, the centenary of Le Mans, into a real party.

Acura