July 31, 2024 Luc Gagné
Honda will take a step back in time by unveiling the stunning 1984 HP-X concept car at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California on Sunday, August 18, 2024. At the same time, the prestigious event will welcome its first Japanese vehicle in its nearly 75-year history.
First shown in Italy at the 60th Turin Motor Show, which opened on November 14, 1984, the Honda HP-X (for Honda Pininfarina eXperimental) was designed and hand-built by the famous Italian design house Pininfarina. Its radical angular shape made it a perfect choice for the competition category in which it was entered, “Wedge-Shaped Concept and Prototype Cars.”
The HP-X will thus make its first major public appearance since 1984, after undergoing a restoration in the workshops of the major coachbuilder.
“A star of the 1984 Turin Auto Show, the HP-X showcased cutting-edge design and engineering elements, with extreme styling that continues to inspire new generations of automotive designers and engineers,” said Dave Marek, Acura design director and honorary judge at the Pebble Beach Concours.
Cutting-edge solutions
According to the manufacturer, the advanced aerodynamic design of the HP-X focused, among other things, on ground effect. In addition, its 2.0-litre multi-valve V6 benefited from innovative cooling solutions. Mounted in a mid-position, it was based on Honda’s Formula 2 engine.
To reduce the vehicle’s mass, its designers relied on cutting-edge materials, including honeycomb panels, carbon fiber and Kevlar.
The absence of doors on its bodywork was naturally the design element that attracted the most comment in Turin. Instead, the concept car was fitted with a completely transparent roof. Made of Perspex, it was designed like a fighter plane canopy to move as a single unit and provide access to the very clean cabin. In addition, at high speeds, its articulated, cantilevered rear section could be raised to act as an aerodynamic brake in combination with the mechanical brakes.
In addition, to facilitate the driver’s movements, the HP-X also had a device called “electronic driving assistance system”. Developed by Honda, it combined a real-time telemetry system, a satellite guidance system and even a road condition warning system using a “special sonar”!
A source of inspiration
“The HP-X did not go into production as such, but its influence on subsequent Honda models and the wider automotive landscape is undeniable,” recalls Felix Kilbertus, Pininfarina’s Creative Director. “It is a testament to the innovative spirit of Honda and Pininfarina, inspiring future developments in the automotive industry.”
In some ways, in fact, this concept car prefigured the NSX, the well-known mid-engined two-seater that, launched five years later, would become Honda’s first production high-performance automobile.
Photos : Pininfarina
About the Author
His parents say that the first three words he said were: mom, dad and… Volvo. We don’t know in what order he said them, but everything suggests that he was predestined for a career in the great world of automobiles. He got into it through the media. Since the 1980s, he has directed various periodicals, from the VAQ’s Magazine de l’auto ancienne (his “school”) to AutoMag, the bilingual magazine Formula 2000, not to mention Le Monde de l’auto and Auto Journal. At the beginning of the 21st century, he wrote for Le Devoir, as well as for Auto123.com, AutoFocus.ca and Auto.Vtélé.ca. He can currently be found in the pages of AnnuelAuto.ca and AutoMedia.ca, as well as in the magazine AutoMédia. Luc is also one of the people who created L’Annuel de l’automobile in 2001.
