It’s often said that racing improves the breed. Win on Sunday, sell on Monday, right? It’s a tried and true tactic for performance cars, yet over the past few decades, is something we’ve mostly let slip from the realm of everyday cars people actually buy. Honda America Racing Team Alabama hasn’t forgotten, because they’re out on track across America campaigning a race-spec Honda Odyssey minivan, and it is glorious.
You can think of HART Alabama, formerly known as the HMA Racing Team, as the A-Team of American Honda employees. Back in 2006, they banded together to go racing. The steed of choice? A preproduction 2005 Honda Odyssey minivan, built to run in One Lap of America. Not only does that van have a NASA logbook, NASA itself reports that the early van clicks off times at Road America fast enough to bully Spec Miatas. Now that would be a terrifying sight in the rearview mirror.
Clearly, the race-van bug stuck, because the team just kept building Odysseys. The next crowning effort was turbocharged to the tune of 532 horsepower, far more than the stock automatic could handle. A limited-slip diff-equipped six-speed manual gearbox from an Acura TL Type-S took care of that, while Brembo front brakes, Michelin PS2 tires, and some serious wheelmanship guided the force-fed Odyssey to 26th place out of 72 entrants in the 2008 One Lap of America, first in the truck/SUV class, and a cumulative points finish ahead of such machinery as a BMW M Coupe, a Corvette Z06, and a Dodge Viper.
As the years and generations of Odyssey rolled on, the team kept iterating and branched out to events like Gridlife, all while remaining an absolutely magnificent sight on American tracks. Their fourth-generation Odyssey was seam-welded, starting with a fresh body, a tradition that’s continued as the years have rolled on as that yields a stiffer platform. Check out that fifth-gen van popping up on two wheels above.
The current iteration of the Hotrodyssey features a Traction Concepts limited-slip differential, an exhaust section from RV6 Performance to merge the two collectors into one pipe, Carbotech brakes, an additional transmission cooler, a functional front splitter, and some ultra-fancy two-way Motion Control Suspension coilovers. Is putting more than $4,000 worth of springs and dampers on a minivan excessive? Not if that’s what it takes to win.
Speaking of what it takes to win, HART Alabama played around with sticking Acura NSX rear wheels on the front of the Odyssey race van, and found that while the extra section width was helpful, the ABS was having issues with the 20-inch wheels. The solution? Downsize to 19-inch wheels, then stick a 305-section trackday tire at each front corner. You know, the same section width available on the Mustang Dark Horse.
The results are simply captivating, watching a vehicle normally seen doing the school run turning laps. If proof that with a little ingenuity, anything can be a race car, and sometimes the best car to get out on the track and have fun with is what you already have at home.
(Photo credits: HART Alabama)
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Yes! I want a minivan racing league. Like the one in Japan that races dodge B series vans
I love this team so much. Nice bunch of folks, too.
I look at that and all I can think of are those signs that say “Drive as if your children were here”.
Should I be worried?
I find this hard to believe, as my 16 Odyssey is a dog up the Sierras. I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve screamed at the transmission to pick a gear and go up the mountain. 10 years of them racing and this is the drivetrain I get? Reliable as fuck though.
Given they have to cater to CAFE standards and the desires of consumers for better mpg, I think driving experience takes a backseat for the production model. Could be like bisimoto and swap in a manual into it from a jdm odyssey
I came across a video of a mom, with obviously some sort of issue, running from state troopers in an Odyssey. Any time traffic opened up she’d drop the police pretty quickly. They’re fast even with tuning.
I own one of these and I think Honda did about as much as you can to make a van interesting to drive. The handling is actually pretty decent, and the engine loves to rev with it’s ~250 hp V6.
There’s two downfalls to these vans:
Ngl, Bricking the screen when you remove the lower radio is a butthole move on Honda’s part.
The 10 speed automatic in the current Odyssey is very nice. You can pop it down with the flappy paddles and really get nice passing torque in the lower gears. And it’s super stable at over 90mph. Ask me how I know.
I’d believe it at over 90 mph. And it’s all too easy to get there too.
The official Fast-Soccer-Mom-Van of America.
I dig the idea of a vehicle with 17 cupholders hustling around a track up on 2 wheels.
Space for enough Red Bull to run the 24 hours of Leman’s with 1 driver.
Gotta give a shout out to Kyle Wade with boosted boys, my favorite Honda man on youtube.
He has a 90’s Oddsey(the Rowddsey) that runs low 10 second quarter miles. Heck he might have it dialed in to run 9’s by now. There are some pretty funny vids of him roll racing a Supra with 6 of them crammed in there and walking away from it.
His other Oddessy is “the plaidssey” It was their shop van/beater until he bought a totaled out Tesla Model S plaid. Cut the body off the Tesla and welded on the van body. Absolutely nuts build as well.
Let’s not forget about Bisimoto’s 1030hp Turbo-Manual Odyssey.
Maybe could have an American people movers series with only “stock” minivans.
Full cages and interior gutted, whatever factory parts made of the model year across the American brand are allowed.
An oddessy with a type r drive train
A sienna with a grmn corolla setup and hybrid awd
A Pacifica with a hellcrate and awd
It could go on.
Seconded. I suggested this years back at the old site no less! My addition would be – you have to carry your pit crew around with you.
That could be even more hilarious
Instead of cameras placed in fixed positions in the car, just put the camera crew in the van.
This is the way.
What about that crazy Ford super van that was at Pikes Peak?
Well yeah, the Ody is the only minivan with VTEC which makes it a RACECAR YO!!!!!!!!!
To bad there’s no factory Odyssey Type R with a manual lol
Shine on you crazy dajiban…
Not only that, during the last decade it received a cool honor – it was commemorated with a Hot Wheels version!
I’m imagining the best-ever radio chatter in this thing:
Spotter: Easy in that corner. You don’t have space to pass yet!
Crew Chief: You’re too aggressive on the straightaways. Give yourself time to turn.
Spotter: Pass now! Now!
Crew Chief: Come in for tires in a lap, understood?!
Driver: If you two don’t SHUT UP I WILL TURN THIS CAR AROUND, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!
COTD