Last update: November 1, currently 19 models in this collection
The largest market for Honda outside Japan is the USA. Except for Formula 1, their motorsport activities are much more focussed on the USA than Europe. Racing engines and cars in the USA are often prepared by HPD which stands for Honda Performance Development, which are raced as Acura, the luxury brand of Honda (which isn’t available in Europe). The Japanese tuning partner of Honda is Mugen who often operate as a factory team.
Honda NSX
1984 Le Mans 24h, Honda NSX. Honda enters the world of GT racing in Europe and sends three NSX to Le Mans. Two in GT1 specs (of which one is a turbo version), these both retire. The third NSX is entered by Team Kunimitsu which makes it to the finish in 8th position and reaches 2nd position in GT2. By doing so, Honda beats the other Japanese entries SARD Toyota and Nissan Skylines which is very important to them.
#84 Kunimitsu Takahashi (J) / Keiichi Tsuchiya (J) / Akira Iida (J) – 8th / 2nd GT2
Kunimitsu Honda NSX GT2 – 3.5 liter Honda VTEC V6 90°, approx. 400 hp. Yokohama tires. Weight 1100 kg. Aluminum space frame, chassisnr Thomson #009
- EBBRO Honda Racing Collection 43673 (diecast)
1996 Japanese GT Championship, Honda NSX. The Japanese GT Championship (JGTC) was very popular in 1996. This Honda NSX, the very same car which won its class at Le Mans in 1995, finished only 26th in the championship. JGTC cars were advancing far further than the quite basic GT2 cars.
#100 Kunimitsu Takahashi (J) / Keiichi Tsuchiya (J) – 26th
Kunimitsu Honda NSX GT2 – 3.5 liter Honda VTEC V6 90°, approx. 450 hp. Yokohama Advan tires. Weight 1100 kg. Aluminum space frame, chassisnr Thomson #009
- EBBRO Honda Racing Collection 43674 (diecast)
1998 Japanese GT Championship, Honda NSX. The beautiful Castrol NSX is entered by Mugen in the GT500 category of the JGTC. Unfortunately the team retires in the first two races held. They won also 2 races and finish 4th in the championship in the end, who know what would have happened with two decent results in the beginning of the season? The championship goes to the Yellow Pennzoil Nissan.
#16 Ryo Michigami (J) / Osamu Nakako (J) – 4th / 2x 1st
Mugen Honda NSX – 3.5 liter Mugen Honda C32B V6 60º, approx. 500 hp. Bridgestone tires. Weight 1100 kg. Aluminum space frame, chassisnr. #unknown
- EBBRO Honda Racing Collection 43027 (diecast)
1999 Japanese GT Championship, Honda NSX. The Japanese GT Championship is a very spectacular racing series with lots of European top drivers. One of them is Dutchman Tom Coronel who won a race at Aida in this Honda NSX. Colonel finishes 5th in the championship. Tom also contested the Formula Nippon championship this year and won the title with his Mugen powered Reynard.
#64 Tom Coronel (NL) / Hiro Matsusada (J) – 5th / 1x 1st
Nakajima Honda NSX – 3.5 liter Mugen Honda C32B V6 60º, approx. 500 hp. Bridgestone tires. Weight 1100 kg. Aluminum space frame, chassisnr. Dome #unknown
- EBBRO Honda Racing Collection 43071 (diecast)
2003 Japanese GT Championship, Honda NSX. Dutchman Tom Coronel is very popular in Japan and had great success there winning the Formula 3 and Formula Nippon championships. He returned for another year JGTC Honda, this time in the Mugen G’Zox #16 together with Daisuke Itou. They won the race at Twin Ring Motegi and ended up 10th in the championship.
#64 Tom Coronel (NL) / Daisuke Itou (J) – 10th / 1x 1st
Mugen Honda NSX – 3.5 liter Mugen Honda C32B V6 60º, approx. 500 hp. Bridgestone tires. Weight 1100 kg. Aluminum space frame, chassisnr. Dome #unknown
- EBBRO Honda Racing Collection 43460 (diecast)
2018 Spa-Francorchamps 24h, Honda NSX. Fifteen years later, the Honda NSX is still used in GT racing nowadays as a GT3, a formula that has been adopted by many series worldwide. This stunning Castrol NSX was piloted by a remarkable PRO-Am team existing of former F1 driver Riccardo Patrese, Loïc Depailler – son of F1 driver Patrick, Esteban Guerrieri – who races for Honda in the WTCC and local guy Bertrand Baguette – who took class wins at Le Mans and was 2022 champion in Super GT.
#30 Esteban Guerrieri (RA) / Riccardo Patrese (I) / Bertrand Baguette (B) / Loic Depailler (F) – 32nd
JAS Honda NSX GT3 – 3.5 liter Honda Honda AR35TT V6 75º twin turbo, approx. 520 hp. Pirelli tires. Weight 1240 kg. Aluminum + Steel space frame, chassisnr. unknown
- SPARK SB216 #218 / 700 pcs (resin)
2021 Japanese Super GT Championship, Mugen Honda NSX GT3. The collaboration between Honda and Red Bull is not only restricted to Formula 1. The Team Mugen Honda NSX GT3 in the Japanese Super GT Championship also gets support form the Austrian power drink. The best result this year is a 4th place at Motegi.
#16 Ukyou Sasahara (J) / Toshiki Ooyu (J) – 4th Motegi
Mugen Honda NSX GT3 (NC1) – 3.5 liter Honda AR35TT V6 75º twin turbo, approx. 520 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 1240 kg. Aluminum + steel space frame, chassisnr. unknown
- SPARK SGT124 (resin)
Honda & Mugen engines in Le Mans Prototypes
2003 Le Mans 24h, Dome S101 – Mugen. The Japanese Kondo team races the Dome S101 which is used by Racing for Holland. But Kondo uses a Mugen engine and of course Yokohama tires. They finish 13th in Le Mans 2003.
#9 Masahiko Kondo (J) / Ukyo Katayama (J)/ Ryo Fukuda (J) – 13th
Dome S101 – 4.0 liter Mugen MF408S – V8 90°, approx. 540 hp. Yokohama Advan tires. Weight 910 kg. Carbon + aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. S101 #04
- EBBRO Dome racing car collection 43294 (diecast)
2004 Le Mans 24h, Dome S101 – Mugen. The Japanese Kondo team races the Dome as is used by Racing for Holland, but for the second year with a Mugen engine and the Yokohama Advanced tires. They didn’t make it to the finish due to oil pressure problems.
#9 Hiroki Katoh (J) / Ryo Fukuda (J) / Ryo Michigami (J) – DNF
Dome S101 – 4.0 liter Mugen MF408S – V8 90°, approx. 540 hp. Yokohama Advan tires. Weight 910 kg. Carbon + aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. S101 #04
- EBBRO Dome racing car collection 43609 (diecast)
2005 Le Mans 24h, Dome S101h – Mugen. Jim Gainer Racing was backed by the Dome factory. It was a the former Dome chassis used by Kondo which was adapted to the new rules and therefore named “hybrid”, which has nothing to do with electric drive. The Japanese drivers, chassis, and Mugen engine could not prevent it from retiring with a broken gearbox in the night.
#5 Ryou Michigami (J) / Seiji Ara (J) / Katsutomo Kaneishi (J) – DNF
Gainer Dome S101h – 4.0 liter Mugen MF408S – V8 90°, approx. 540 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 910 kg. Carbon + aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. S101 #04
- SPARK Dome collection S0059 (resin)
2006 Le Mans 24h, Courage LC70 – Mugen. The new P1 LC70 prototype was powered by a Mugen (Honda) V8 engine and was surprisingly quick in qualifying, but only managed 35 laps in the race.
#13 Shinji Nakano (J) / Haruki Kurosawa (J) / Jean-Marc Gounon (F) – DNF / gearbox
Courage LC70 – 4.0 liter Mugen MF408S V8 90°, approx. 600hp. Carbon fibre monocoque, chassisnr. LC70 #004
- EBBRO 43923 (diecast)
- Advan-Mugen & Dome-Mugen
2016 Daytona 24h, Ligier JS P2. When the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am merged, a solution was needed for the two different prototype categories. The powerful Corvette Daytona Prototypes and European style LMP2 prototypes were brought together with a balance-of-performance rules set. In 2014 and 2015 the ‘American’ cars were much more successful, but in 2016 the LMP2’s seem to be the better car. Not only won this Patrón sponsored Ligier-HPD in Daytona, also the works Mazda’s are quicker than the DP’s.
#2 Luis ‘Pipo’ Derani (BRA) / Scott Sharp (
USA) / Ed Brown (
USA) / Johannes Van Overbeek (USA) – 1st
Extreme Speed Ligier JS P2 – 2.6 liter HPD Honda V6 twin turbo, approx. 500 hp. Continental tires. Weight 900 kg. Carbon fibre monocoque, chassisnr. Onroak #unknown
- SPARK Daytona Winners 43DA16 (resin)
Acura & HPD ARX prototypes
2007 Sebring 12h, Acura ARX-01a. Acura came to the ALMS in 2007 to compete against Porsche in the P2 category. At its debut at Sebring it scored 2nd, 3rd and 6th places, showing what potential the car has. Acura didn’t develop the car from scratch, in fact it is an adjusted Courage LC70 which got homologated as Acura.
#9 David Brabham (AUS) / Stefan Johansson (S) / Duncan Dayton (USA) – 6th
Highcroft Acura ARX-01a – 3.4 liter Honda AL7R V8 90º, approx. 480 hp. Michelin tires. Weight 800 kg. Carbon + aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. Courage LC70 #7
- SPARK special Highcroft Racing 600 pcs (resin)
2008 Sebring 12h, Acura ARX-01b. Honda put their new V8 engine in an adapted Courage LC70-chassis and changed the aerodynamics: the Acura ARX-01 was born. In 2008 it beat the mighty Porsche RS Spyders 6 times. The Highcroft car won twice with Brabham and Speed. At Sebring they were joined by Stefan Johansson and finished 5th.
#9 David Brabham (AUS) / Stefan Johansson (S) / Scott Speed (USA) – 5th
Highcroft Acura ARX-01b – 3.4 liter Honda AL7R V8 90º, approx. 480 hp. Michelin tires. Weight 800 kg. Carbon + aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. Courage LC70 #7
- SPARK special Highcroft Racing 1200 pcs (resin)
2009 Petit Le Mans, Acura ARX-02a. The ARX-02 was the new LMP1 car from Acura that dominated American Le Mans Series except for the two events (Sebring and Petit Le Mans) where Audi and Peugeot were present with their diesel racers. Brabham and Johansson were joined by Marino Franchitti for the Petit Le Mans race.
#26 David Brabham (AUS) / Stefan Johansson (S) – 6th
Highcroft Acura ARX-02a – 4.0 liter Honda LM-AR7 V8 90º, approx. 620 hp. Michelin tires. Weight 900 kg. Carbon + aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. ARX-02a #02
- SPARK special Highcroft Racing 1000 pcs (resin)
2010 Le Mans 24h, HPD ARX-01c. Highcroft Racing is back-to-back champion in the American Le Mans Series and this year they came to Le Mans with their beautiful car. They used an updated version of their 2008 ARX-01 and started in LMP2. The name Acura was replaced by HPD. Highcroft had problems getting the car to speed, the Strakka HPD was faster whole weekend. In the end the Highcroft car got in trouble and only finished 25th.
#26 David Brabham (AUS) / Marino Franchitti (GB) / Marco Werner (D) – 25th / 9th LMP2
Highcroft Acura ARX-01c – 3.4 liter Honda AL7R V8 90º, approx. 480 hp. Michelin tires. Weight 800 kg. Carbon + aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. Courage LC70 #11
- SPARK S2570 (resin)
2011 Le Mans 24h, HPD ARX-01d. The Acura ARX, later renamed as HPD (Honda Power Development) was very successful in the USA. British Strakka Racing was the first European team to use the car in Europe, which was developed from a French Courage. Last year’s car that won the LMP2 category had the normally aspirated V8 engine, this year it was powered by the new 2.8 liter HPD V6 turbo. The race in 2011 was less successful than the previous year, Strakka had to retire the car after 144 laps.
#42 Nick Leventis (GB) / Danny Watts (GB) / Johnny Kane (GB) – DNF
Strakka Acura ARX-01d – 2.8 liter HPD HR28TT V6 60º twin turbo, approx. 500 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 800 kg. Carbon + aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. Courage LC70 #11
- SPARK S2535 (resin)
2012 Le Mans 24h, HPD ARX-03c. The HPD ARX-03a has been developed from earlier Acura and HPD ARX-02 and uses its 4.0 liter normally aspirated V8. Two teams, Strakka and JRM, bring HPD LMP1 to Le Mans this year. The JRM team makes its debut but has a very strong driver line up: the experienced David Brabham, Peter Dumbreck and F1 driver Karun Chandhok. The team does very well in its first year and finishes 6th behind 4 Audi’s and a Rebellion-Lola.
#22 David Brabham (AUS) / Peter Dumbreck (GB) / Karun Chandhok (IND) – 6th
JRM Acura ARX-03c – 4.0 liter Honda LM-AR7 V8 90º, approx. 620 hp. Michelin tires. Weight 900 kg. Carbon + aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. ARX-03c #07
SPARK S3709 (resin)
2021 Daytona 24h, Acura ARX-05. In 2021, Wayne Taylor Racing switched from Cadillac to Acura and took the Konica sponsorship with them. It was an instant hit because the Acura ARX-05 won the Daytona 24-hour race. The Acura is based on the Oreca 07 which is the leading car in LMP2 at Le Mans and the world championship. The main difference with the Oreca is the front of the car with the high-placed spoiler and of course the V6 twin-turbo engine from the Acura / Honda NSX.
#10 Ricky Taylor (USA) / Filipe Albuquerque (POR) / Alexander Rossi (USA) / Helio Castroneves (USA) – 1st
Wayne Taylor Acura ARX-05 – 3.5 liter Acura (Honda) AR35TT V6 60º twin turbo, approx. 600 hp. Michelin tires. Weight 920 kg. Carbon fibre monocoque, chassisnr. Oreca 07 #unknown.
- TRUE SCALE MINIATURES TSM 430552 (resin)
The Acura ARX-06 GTP car has won the 2023 Daytona 24-hour race. I hope to add a model of it to my collection.
Thanks for visiting 😉