Honda teases CR-V Hybrid race car's raucous exhaust note before Feb. 28 debut

It is but the end of February and the slate for this year’s Pikes Peak Hill International Climb already includes more pickups, vans, and crossovers than we would have expected (the total is 3 so far). Honda hasn’t announced any intention to take its CR-V Hybrid race car up the snaking 12 miles to the clouds, but now we might want it to. Honda Performance Development teased the squat, fat-tired crossover in a short video last week. Now it’s teased the exhaust note in a second clip. This video is even shorter than the first, but it’s plenty long enough for us to know the answer is “Yes.” It’s a proper way for 800 horsepower to sound.

The first teaser hinted that there was little left of the production CR-V Hybrid on the racer beyond the taillights, headlights and grille. Everything else looked bespoke. We’re given a better view of the interior here, and even the inside has been gutted to make room for two OMP racing buckets, a Cosworth single-seater-style steering wheel at the end of a gleaming racing column, and a riveted divider separating the two front-seaters from whatever’s behind. And this thing sits about two whiskers off the ground.

The SUV is being developed at the Auto Development Center by Honda Performance Development engineers. Design is being handled by the North American design division. The debut is scheduled for tomorrow, then we’ll find out where the horsepower comes from and where Honda plans to put all those horses on show. That bass mouth intake up front and big wing on the back make us wonder, no matter where else it’s going, why not Pikes Peak?

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