Honda Racing Corporation USA isn’t putting its old race cars in a museum. It’s putting them back on track — and selling them to people who’ll do the same.
HRC US launched the HRC Heritage Racing Program on August 12, 2026, a formal initiative to restore, sell, and provide ongoing trackside support for championship-winning Honda and Acura race machines. The cars on offer won at Sebring, Daytona, Le Mans, and Laguna Seca across three decades of North American competition. The program’s official site is heritage.honda.racing.
The First Car on the Block
The opening listing is the #26 XM Satellite Radio AGR Acura ARX-01a — a V8-powered LMP2 prototype fielded by Andretti Green Racing with two specific distinctions that aren’t just marketing: it was the first purpose-built Acura endurance racer, and the first car and engine entirely designed and developed by HRC on U.S. soil.
In its racing debut at the 2007 Sebring 12 Hours, Dario Franchitti, Bryan Herta, and Tony Kanaan drove the ARX-01a straight to a class win. Three future champions. First race. LMP2 victory. The car hasn’t needed to prove anything since.
“It’s just a pleasure to drive,” Franchitti said. “The 2007 XM Acura ARX-01a is a special car for anyone who was lucky enough to get to drive it.”
What “Restored” Actually Means Here
HRC isn’t doing a cosmetic refresh and calling it done. Every car in the program is completely torn down and rebuilt from scratch, using the original homologation documents alongside notes and photographs from the engineers who designed them the first time. Engines are rebuilt at HRC’s U.S. headquarters in Santa Clarita, California. Electronics are modernized. Select safety materials are updated where required.
Post-restoration, each car is track-tested before delivery. After that, HRC’s engineers are available for ongoing trackside support — which is genuinely unusual. Buying a genuine works-spec prototype and having factory-level expertise to call on in historic competition is a different proposition entirely from acquiring a car through auction and hoping parts and institutional knowledge still exist somewhere.
“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 HRC US president David Salters.
What Else Is in the Garage
The ARX-01a is the headline, but the catalog has real depth. Here’s what HRC has either restored and sold, is currently offering, or is actively working on:
2009 Acura ARX-02a ‘Patrón’ — the V10-powered LMP1 machine. Available now.
Acura NSX GT3 Chassis No. 5 — by HRC’s count, the winningest NSX GT3 ever built: 38 class wins across IMSA and SRO competition, five drivers’ championships, four teams’ championships, and two manufacturers’ titles between 2017 and 2023. It carries the “Lady Liberty” livery and is currently for sale.
2010 HPD ARX-01c ‘Strakka Racing’ — the Le Mans LMP2 class winner. During Monterey Car Week, Acura GTP IMSA driver Nick Yelloly drove it at Laguna Seca’s Scott Pruett Legends event, then the car was displayed at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Available now.
2001 Reynard 01i — Gil de Ferran’s Team Penske CART championship car. De Ferran won back-to-back CART titles in 2000 and 2001 on Honda power and set a qualifying record of 241.428 mph at California Speedway that still stands. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown now owns this particular car and turned demonstration laps in it at Laguna Seca during Monterey Car Week.
Acura ARX-05 DPi (four cars) — the core of Acura’s IMSA DPi era. These machines collectively account for three teams’ championship seasons (2019, 2020, 2022) and a 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona victory. They’re already competing in IMSA’s Historic SportsCar Racing Series.
In progress: a 2023 Acura ARX-06 GTP, a 2016 Ligier JS P2, and a 2010 Dallara IR-05. HRC says more historic Honda-powered IndyCar machines are on the way.
The Bigger Picture
HRC US has logged 500-plus race wins and 60-plus series championships in North American competition. That’s a significant volume of machinery that could otherwise end up in private hands with no institutional support — degrading over time as parts disappear and documentation gets lost.
What HRC is formalizing here — restoration and sale of its own heritage hardware, backed by its own archives and engineering staff — is something every manufacturer with a serious racing history should be doing. Most don’t bother. While Honda’s current engineering resources are spread across everything from Formula 1 power units to GTP prototypes, the Heritage Racing Program is the acknowledgment that the machines which built that reputation deserve better than a warehouse shelf.
For buyers, the contact is [email protected] or +1 (661) 702-7777. No pricing is listed publicly — which tells you most of what you need to know about the expected buyer.
About the Author
