Honda Launches Heritage Racing ProgramHondaHave you ever wanted to drive a real race car just like your heroes? Well, now you can, given enough money. Honda just announced its new HRC Heritage Racing Program that includes the sale, restoration, and trackside support of historic Honda and Acura race machines that have won races and championships around the world, including at Le Mans, Sebring, Daytona, and Laguna Seca.They're not all going on sale at once. The first car available for purchase and restoration is the Sebring-winning V8-powered #26 XM Satellite Radio AGR Acura ARX-01a, Honda announced at Monterey, where the car will be shown at the HRC display at the Quail on Friday.Acura ARX-01a.Honda"The Andretti Green Racing 'XM' car was the first purpose-built Acura endurance racer and the first car and engine designed and developed by HRC in the US," Honda said. "Winner of the LMP2 class at the 2007 Sebring 12 Hours, its debut race, it was driven to victory by Dario Franchitti, Bryan Herta, and Tony Kanaan."AdvertisementAdvertisement"Classic race cars never die, their myth and aura just grow, and the HRC Heritage Racing Program is all about keeping our incredible Honda and Acura race cars doing what they were born to do—race," said David Salters, president of HRC US. "As the builder of these race-winning machines, and custodian of the original IP and knowledge, HRC is uniquely equipped to restore them to their original form, ensuring they can return to historic racing competition authentically and ready to be enjoyed by our customers and fans."Acura ARX-01aRichard Dole"The 2007 XM Acura ARX-01a made you feel like a hero, it made you feel like the best driver in the world, you just pushed harder and harder, and it just kept coming back for more," said Dario Franchitti, who drove the 2007 XM Acura ARX-01a to multiple victories. "It's just a pleasure to drive, the 2007 XM Acura ARX-01a is a special car for anyone who was lucky enough to get to drive it, and you can't say that for a lot of cars."The HRC Heritage Racing Program delivers restorations of unmatched authenticity, meticulously performed utilizing the race machine's original homologation documents, plus notes and photographs from the original HRC engineers involved in each project. The work is supported by extensive HRC archives of technical data ensuring each car and engine is restored correctly.Each race car is completely torn down and reassembled with new and reconditioned parts and, in the interest of safety, some updated materials. Electronics are modernized and the engines are rebuilt at HRC US headquarters in Santa Clarita, California. Finally, post-restoration, each race machine is thoroughly track tested, and HRC engineers are available for track support and to assist the new owner in competition.AdvertisementAdvertisement"HRC restores these historic Honda and Acura race cars to a level enabling them to be driven and feel as original as possible, while still making some updates—especially with regards to electronics," said HRC US Commercial Manager John Whiteman. "Our approach maintains the authenticity of design and driving experience of these iconic race cars and adds modifications for safety performance and to ensure they are user-friendly for their new owners."Acura NSX GT3HondaHRC has already restored four Acura ARX-05 DPi endurance racers that competed in IMSA's Historic SportsCar Racing Series, including a 2019 Acura Team Penske car that will be displayed at Laguna Seca this weekend. It also completed the refurbishment of the 2001 Reynard 01i raced by the late Gil de Ferran for Team Penske in the 2001 CART championship—offering a period correct Honda engine, supporting the engine fire up, and inspecting key electronic components for the car's current owner, Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, long-time friend of de Ferran. Brown will turn laps at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca as part of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion this weekend.No prices were mentioned for the purchase or restoration of any of these models. Don't ask, just send a blank check.