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Le Mans LMP2 Prototype Challenges Pikes Peak, Has a 3.5-liter Honda V6

This year's Le Mans 24 Hours race might be over, and the wind might blow on the Circuit de la Sarthe, but the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb is asking for attention.
HPD ARX-04b 1 photo
Photo: Honda
Usually, the place to see an LMP2 prototype is either the garage where it rests between competitions or on the race track. But when Honda gives you their 278-horsepower 3.5-liter V6, it's hard to resist the temptation of going up the hill at Pikes Peak.

Without further ado, meet the Honda-powered HPD ARX-04b, which will be driven by Verizon IndyCar Series race winner and former Formula 1 driver Justin Wilson.

The ARX-04b will be the first full-carbon monocoque vehicle ever sanctioned for PPIHC entry and will be fitted with a 3.5-liter V6 twin-turbocharged engine. Also, the racer will compete in the Unlimited class, which features highly-modified cars that can navigate the 156 turns of the 12.42-mile course in under 10 minutes as they roar to the mountain top.

But the team faces a tough challenge as they want to beat the 8:13.878 time set by Sebastien Loeb in 2013.

"This is an exploratory effort, to learn as much as we can in advance of a possible future assault on the outright record. We want to see how well our ARX-04b chassis adapts to the rigors of the Climb, and the high-altitude demands placed on our production-based V6 engine," said Art St. Cyr, President of Honda Performance Development.

Honda also tells us the prototype features energy-efficient technology with low drag and high fuel efficiency and quick change front and rear bodywork.
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