- Honda's first concept car from the '80s will be shown at 2024 Monterey Car Week
- The concept is known as the Honda HP-X concept, and it debuted in 1984
- Honda restored the concept to be shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
The Pininfarina-designed Honda HP-X concept of 1984 has been restored and is ready to hit the lawns at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
The car is of significant importance for Honda, as it was not only the first concept from the automaker, but it also laid the groundwork for what would eventually become the original NSX.
By the early 1980s, Honda was ready to break out. The Japanese automaker had its sights set on exotic performance without sacrificing reliability. Buoyed by its entrance into the Formula 1 championship in 1983, the automaker had resources and ambition to launch a supercar to rival Europe's best.
What Honda needed was an exciting design, and for help in this department it turned to Pininfarina. The exotic automaker penned the HP-X, the initials standing for “Honda Pininfarina eXperimental.” The naming practice would also be used for the NSX, whose initials stand for “New Sportscar eXperimental.”
Honda HP-X concept
The HP-X made its world debut at the 1984 Turin auto show. It was powered by a 2.0-liter V-6 borrowed from a F2 race car, and instead of conventional doors it featured a jet-fighter style canopy made from Perspex.
The concept was more than just a styling exercise. It was also a prototype of sorts to test new materials, with honeycomb panels, carbon fiber, and Kevlar all featured in the vehicle to reduce weight. Early forms of GPS, real-time telemetry, and a sonar-based system for road condition warnings were also tested in the concept.
Honda would further refine the design during the rest of the decade, with a follow up concept called the NS-X debuting at the 1989 Chicago auto show and the production NSX arriving a year after that.
The HP-X will be presented on Aug. 18 at the Pebble Beach Concours, where it will take part in the Wedge-Shaped Concept Cars and Prototypes Class. The Concours is the highlight of Monterey Car Week that runs Aug. 9-18 this year.
