SEMA 2015: HPD Debuts 2017 Honda Ridgeline With Baja Race Truck

OK, so Honda customers won’t have the option to buy a BAJA truck but you can clearly make out the design language and theme Honda is going for.

This isn’t the Honda Ridgeline we’re used to seeing but Honda is really pushing the aggressive and bold take on its unbody truck with this Honda Baja Racer. Earlier today (Nov. 3, 2015) Honda did the honors of unveiling its Ridgeline Baja Race Truck they’ll be campaigning on a couple of races this year. With beefy General tires on all four corners, a LED light bar up front, and enough shock travel to conquer any mall parking lot (we kid) this Honda Ridgeline Baja Racer gives us a preview of what’s to come.

Honda Performance Development Inc., the racing arm of Honda, prepared this Honda Ridgeline for war and as such have equipped it with a their LMP2 racecar engine from their Tudor United Sportscar Championship series and stuffed it into this Baja Racer. According to their spec sheet which they also tweeted earlier today, this package is good for 550 HP. We think they’ll lop off the turbos and place a detuned version of this engine in the production 2017 Honda Ridgeline.

Remove the fancy paint job and graphics, lower the body a bit, put on a set of proper wheels and tires and strip off the LED bar and what you’re imagining is the 2017 Honda Ridgeline in production garb. While you might not get a tube frame chassis, you will get those aggressive looks. Up front are revised headlights with a smaller grill. To the side, you’ll notice slightly larger flares and in the rear we take it Honda has increased bed space to make the 2017 Honda Ridgeline slightly more functional.

Serious truck owners know that the Honda Ridgeline won’t cut it when it comes to heavy duty towing or day-to-day slogging it out on the field. But for 80 percent of truck drivers, image is everything and it’s up to Honda’s ad department to sell the upcoming Ridgeline as a serious hauler. This Baja Race truck is a good first step.