Acura’s ARX-06 LMDh racer gets a 2.4-litre twin-turbo V6 that revs to 10,000rpm

Welcome one and all to the brand new Acura ARX-06. Extremely uninspiring name, but a mighty cool endurance racer we think you’ll agree…

It’s been designed to comply with LMDh rules and will compete in the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Said rules and regulations mean it’s eligible for Le Mans too, although there’s no word from Acura on whether it’ll make the trip across the Atlantic. 

If it did, us Europeans would be treated to a brand new and completely bespoke twin-turbo 2.4-litre V6 that revs to 10,000rpm and pairs with a hybrid system to send a limited 661bhp to the rear wheels. Strong. The combustion engine is designed, developed and built by Honda Performance Development in the USA and can run on sustainable low carbon fuel, while the electric motor comes from Bosch and the battery pack from Williams Advanced Engineering.

The gearbox is a six-speed sequential unit supplied by Xtrac and the chassis is Oreca’s new LMDh-specific carbon fibre monocoque. The ultra-sharp styling was penned by the Acura Design Studio in Los Angeles.

“If you're a performance brand, you have to go racing. It's that simple," said Acura vice president Jon Ikeda. “Both the existing ARX-05 prototype and our production-based NSX GT3 have proven to be race- and championship-winning designs on tracks all across North America. Now, with the introduction of the new, electrified Acura ARX-06, we look forward to facing off against other premium automotive brands from around the world – and continuing our winning ways.”

Lofty ambitions for the new prototype then. The ARX-06 will make its debut in January 2023 at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Thoughts, folks?