Acura has
officially unveiled the ARX-05 race car. Set to compete in the 2018 IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the ARX-05 is based on the ORECA 07 chassis
and features Acura-specific bodywork as well as Jewel Eye headlights.
Acura was coy on performance specifications but
confirmed the model is powered by a twin-turbo AR35TT engine. It is loosely
based on the 3.5-liter V6 that resides in models such as the MDX, TLX, and RLX.
Two cars will be fielded by Team Penske and they
will compete in a multi-year Daytona Prototype International program
administered by Honda Performance Development. The cars will celebrate their
racing debut at the Rolex 24 in January and one of the models will be driven by
Juan Pablo Montoya and Dane Cameron. The other pair of drivers will be
announced at a later date.
Acura Motorsports President Art St. Cyr hailed the
unveiling of the car by saying "Right from the start, Acura has raced –
and done so successfully." He went on to say "The ARX-05 is our
fifth-generation prototype, and we expect great things from our partnership
with Team Penske."
