Honda's motorsport history is ripe with championships across all forms of racing. Everything on two wheels, four wheels, and, heck, even lawn mowers bearing the Honda H have all competed and won at various levels of competition.
Now, Honda has its sights set on a victory on one of the grandest stages of the desert-racing calendar: the Baja 1000.
The automaker has competed and won here in multiple classes in the past. But the Trophy Truck class presents an elusive challenge for Honda. They don't have a vehicle designed to compete at this level... until now.
This is the Honda Passport Baja Spec, and it plans to take home the top trophy thanks to 1,300 horsepower and one hell of an all-wheel-drive system.
Honda Passport Baja Spec Trophy Truck
Photo by: Honda
Honda isn't playing games with this one. The automaker has partnered with a top-tier Trophy Truck chassis builder, Mason Motorsports, and a winning Baja champion, Bryce Menzies. Honda Racing brings its tremendous knowledge of motorsports technology, honed over decades of competing in IMSA, IndyCar, and Formula 1.
The truck is obviously not a modified Passport. Instead, we have a Passport-like body shell bolted to a Mason Motorsports Gen 2 chassis. You might not be surprised at the amount of wheel travel this setup delivers: 25 inches up front and 32 inches out back.
But you probably aren't familiar with the unique twin-angled five-speed transmission developed by Mason.
Photo by: Honda
There's a transfer case set ahead of the engine, which routes power to the front and rear tires. For the rears, there's a separate driveshaft for each hub, with a high-pinion spiral bevel gear set at each rear wheel. This allows the powertrain to make sure each rear wheel gets power as needed, while also removing most of the low-hanging bits you'd find with a traditional driveshaft and rear differential.
So less stuff to slam into hidden rocks or slow-moving UTVs.
Power to the front wheels comes from that transfer case, but it's sent to a portal axle at each wheel. Again, this allows for fewer low-hanging parts you'd find on a standard truck
Photo by: Honda
Your standard Trophy Truck runs a massive 9.0-liter V8 engine delivering around 1,100 hp. Honda takes quite a different approach here with the Passport Baja Spec. The mid-engine machine features a 2.4-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine paired with an 800-volt hybrid system. Combined, the setup produces over 1,300 hp.
Honda says the engine is based on the one used in Acura's ARX-06 prototype race car. Durability should be quite good, considering the ARX has won the 24 Hours of Daytona and other incredibly difficult endurance races.
The battery pack is built at HRC's California headquarters. It uses pouch cells housed in a carbon-fiber case, technology taken from the previous generation of Formula 1 race cars.
While the battery pack likely adds a bit of weight compared to the V8 trucks, the hybrid setup should allow for fewer fuel stops. That's a good thing when you have to pause to fill up the 145-gallon carbon-kevlar fuel cell.
Photo by: Honda
Trophy Trucks are some of the most amazing race vehicles on the planet. They deliver wicked power, take brutal punishment, and have to handle incredibly harsh terrain across hundreds of miles for hours on end.
Building a vehicle that not only competes but also finishes the race is an achievement in itself. But Honda says the goal isn't to cross the finish line; it's to cross it in first place.
What do you think?
The Honda Passport Baja Spec race truck will make its competition debut at the 2027 Baja 500 on June 2nd. The ultimate goal, however, will be the 60th anniversary race of the Baja 1000 on November 14th of 2027.
Honda has been on that podium many times over the years, with motorcycles and trucks. This time, though, Honda wants the true top spot and has built just the machine to do it.
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Extracted and lightly reformatted for readability. · Source: pt