The Honda Performance Development update
The very first Japanese luxury brand Acura had its 2008 model introduction in a close by place in Detroit in connection with the recently concluded Detroit Sports Car Challenge, where the team finished third, held at the street of Belle Isle. The Acura team is really all over the place as it was also present in other weekend races such as the American Le Mans Series and IRL Race. Aside from the skilled and seasoned drivers for Acura, the performance parts equipped in every vehicle are big factors for such feat.
For the next months, Jack Spurney of Honda Performance Development (HPD) has given a rundown of the activities for Acura development team. Debuting this year in the speed wars are the Acura LMP2 cars and these are enjoying a spot behind the leading Porsche RS Spyders in the manufacturer standings. As a sport luxury brand, Acura has decided to go against the tech-driven and competitive American Le Mans Series (ALMS) rivals such as Porsche, Audi, and Mitsubishi.
The Acura vehicles will be geared with an ALMS V-8 engine, which was designed and engineered completely at the HPD headquarters with no outsiders involved. To date, this engine is the first Honda race engine that was crafted outside of Acura’s homeland. The development, design, and final touch-ups were done in solely in the California-based HPD. Moreover, other Acura parts such as the chassis will also be designed and made in the HPD headquarters. The original Courage LC75 chassis will no longer be utilized by Acura racing vehicles because this chassis did not meet the needs of the Acura vehicles. As a replacement, HPD developed the ARX-01 Acura chassis.
For next year, HPD is also planning a chassis overhaul in order to further improve the performance of the car as well as its serviceability. The present car has encountered difficulties in repairing during race propers.