Is this fully restored, mid-engined HP-X Concept Honda’s coolest-ever car?

This is the Honda HP-X Concept, and while it may still look like it’s from the future, it’s actually from… 1984. Though it’s now been given a new lease of life following an extensive restoration by Pininfarina.

Aside from its considerable Wedge, one of its key exterior features is the fighter jet-like single-piece canopy which replaces the doors and opens vertically. But that’s not all it does: the canopy also extends rearward to act as a driver-controlled air brake, while providing a bit more aero for its super slippery shape.

Other bits and bobs include a series of thin indentations along the flanks, much like you get in a Ferrari Testarossa, while the whole body looks squat and shrunk like that of a Vector W8. It’s also got an almost perfect angle of descent from the mid-point of the roof to the tip of the headlights. AKA: a Good Wedge. Ruddy good designing, that.

The hurricane alloys aren’t half bad either, given it’s something we rarely see in modern performance cars. Wait, performance car? Yep, the HP-X is mid-engined, featuring a 2.0-litre 24-valve Honda race engine, while ground effects were even woven into the car’s underbelly to give it some sort of ‘oh wow’ when driven with haste.

The interior was also equally futuristic at the time and features systems like real-time telemetry and GPS. You even received updates on upcoming road conditions via sonar. Might be worth testing it for a day in the Lake District to see if it actually works.

Though the HP-X never officially made production, it has been credited with laying the foundations for Honda models that came after it - namely, that supercar co-developed with Ayrton Senna.

Following Pininfarina’s refurb, it will be entered into the Concours d’Elegance ‘wedge-shaped concept car and prototypes class’ at Monterey Car Week later this month, where it’s fairly likely to cause a stir.