2023 Acura ARX-06 LMDh Race Car Completes First Test

Acura has unveiled its new Le Mans Daytona Hybrid (LMDh) racing car, which will compete in the IMSA Sports Car Championship starting in 2023.

Called the Acura ARX-06, short for Acura Racing Experimental - generation 6, the car just completed initial testing at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France last week. Most of the driving was done by Honda engineer and racer Matt McMurry and Wayne Taylor Racing driver Ricky Taylor.

Acura will only compete in the sports car championships, specifically the new GTP pinnacle class, which will replace the current DPi class that Acura competes in with the ARX-05 starting in 2023.

The GTP class will also be open to vehicles built under Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) regulations, some of which have been competing in the hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship since 2021. Similarly, LMDh vehicles are eligible for the Hypercar class, but Acura has not announced any plans to enter them in the World Endurance Championship.

For the LMDh program, Acura will run the cars with race- and championship-winning teams Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing. The driver lineup will be announced at a later date.

Like the existing ARX-05, the ARX-06 will be based on the Oreca chassis, but will feature a hybrid powertrain developed by Acura. Acura was also responsible for the exterior design, with initial design work done by a Los Angeles studio that designs many of Acura's road cars.

The design is clearly an evolution of the ARX-05, which performed well in the sports car championships, debuting with Team Penske in the 2018 season and winning team, manufacturer, and driver championships in 2019 and 2020. Since the partnership with Penske was dissolved after 2020, Acura split the two ARX-05s between Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing. These teams won back-to-back Acura 24 Hours of Daytona race championships in 2021 and 2022.

The first race for the ARX-06 will be the 2023 Daytona 24 Hours next January, the opening race of the 2023 sports car championship.

The LMDh field is expected to face stiff competition. Alpine, Audi (probably), BMW, Cadillac, Lamborghini, and Porsche are also committed to the LMDh, while Bicoles, Ferrari, Glickenhaus, Peugeot, and Toyota are committed to the LMH.