Acura Shares First Images Of ARX-06 LMDh Hypercar Testing On Track

The Acura ARX-06 LMDh prototype has made its first foray into its natural habitat, the racetrack. The new hypercar successfully completed two days of testing at France’s Paul Ricard circuit.

These are our best photos yet of Acura’s latest generation of prototype racer. Set to compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTP class starting in 2023, the racecar will feature a hybrid powertrain, though details on it remain scant.

Driving duties during this test were handled by Wayne Taylor Racing driver Ricky Taylor and Honda Performance Development engineer Matt McMurry. Taylor is a two-time IMSA DPi champion and has won the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Acura.

Read Also: Acura Teases The Hybrid LMDh Hypercar It Will Race In IMSA Starting In 2023

McMurry, meanwhile, along with being a Vehicle Performance engineer, is also a successful racer. He has competed at Le Mans three times and won the IMSA GTD Drivers’ Championship in 2020. During this test, he led development work on several software control systems that will be utilized by the ARX-06.

“Of course, it is still early days, but I would have to say we’re quite pleased with the results of both the initial shake-down runs last week at Paul Ricard; followed by two days this weekend, which ran into the night both on Saturday and Sunday,” said David Salters, HPD President and Technical Director. “Everyone on our team from ORECA, HPD, the Wayne Taylor and Meyer Shank organizations, worked together extraordinarily well in preparing for and conducting these initial runs. Now the truly hard work begins!”

The car’s name, ARX-06, stands for “Acura Racing eXperimental, generation 6,” according to the brand. As that suggests, it follows in the footsteps of prototype racers that have previously led Acura to IMSA DPi championships in 2019 and 2020, as well as overall victories at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2021 and 2022.

Based on a chassis designed by ORECA, the Acura ARX-06 is just the latest LMDh racecar to start being revealed to the public this summer. It will compete against the likes of Porsche and Cadillac in 2023.