Are you suffering from supercar fatigue? If you’re tired of endless special editions and bloated supercar model lineups that all look similar, you aren’t the only one. It’s a similar story with concept car fatigue. So many these days are thinly revamped future production models masquerading as flights of fancy. It wasn’t always this way, and the Honda HP-X concept has received a full restoration to remind the world just what we’ve lost over time.
See, for the 1984 Turin Motor Show, Honda wanted to do something big. Something to spark desire, change the narrative, and let everyone know that it was Japan’s time to shine. We’re talking about a pure show car, a don’t-wake-me-up-we’re-dreaming statement of intent and showcase of a future. Not necessarily the future that would happen, but a vision of what might. The name? HP-X, standing for Honda Pininfarina eXperimental.
Yes, that studiously futuristic body is the work of Pininfarina, and it’s not hard to tell. The proportions are solid, a wedgy creation as was the style of the time. However, the details are fanciful, from the reinterpretation of Testarossa strakes as diagonally ribbed body sides to the satisfyingly slim headlights. Even the alloy wheels seem futuristic for the time, seeing as in 1984, people were still driving around in Mk1 Golfs and Cutlass Supreme Broughams as brand new cars.
Of course, Honda’s might has always been engineering, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that mounted in the middle of the HP-X is a two-liter 24-valve quad-cam V6, which Honda claims is derived from a Formula 2 racing engine. Not only was having two cams per bank the absolute newest, hottest thing in 1984, that little link to motorsports serves as a reminder that Soichiro Honda was a thrill seeker.
Oh, and speaking of thrills, the technology aboard the HP-X still feels advanced today. It has active aerodynamics, with the rear of its canopy turning into an airbrake at the driver’s whim. It had what Honda called an “Electronic Driver Support System” which offered navigation, telemetry, and ultrasonic road condition warnings, all of which feel fit for a brand new car 40 years later. Carbon fiber, Kevlar, and honeycomb mesh parts abounded, as the future of lightweight materials was on display. No surprise then that Honda kept the HP-X around.
However, it wasn’t always this nice. See, concept cars aren’t built to the same rigorous standards as production models, and decades of wear and tear do add up. With that in mind, Honda decided to turn back the years by giving the HP-X an extensive restoration in preparation for America’s fanciest car event — Pebble Beach.
Yes, on Sunday, August 18, the Honda HP-X will roll out onto the lawn to compete in the “Wedge-Shaped Concept Cars and Prototypes” class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It’ll be going up against some of the most evocative four-wheeled machines ever dreamt up by humankind, so a victory here would be a huge victory not just for Honda, but for collectible Japanese cars. For now, we continue to dream. The Honda HP-X might not be new, but it’s exactly what we needed.
(Photo credits: Honda)
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This looks like so much fun to drive…plus it can also be used as a door stop!
Sorry, but I’m not a fan of wedge cars. I still haven’t forgiven Triumph for creating the ugly monstrosity known as the TR7. The TR6 was a classic, beautiful design. The wedge TR7 was the final nail in their coffin.
Did Enrico Fumia design this?
It sure looks like his work.
Am I the only one who sees the potential genesis of what would later become NSX design language in this, especially in that center console layout?
So many buttons!
Ok, Not to be the weirdo here, but that steering wheel with the center hub thin enough to look like a single spoke!
The whole design almost looks like the “H” logo with the outer tips of the H curved in to form a wheel.
It’s fantastic!!!
Not only was having two cams per bank the absolute newest, hottest thing in 1984
So much so that aftermarket companies sold “16 valve” valve covers for V8s.
Ahhh, the days of “Twin Cam”, “16 Valve”, “Turbo” and “5 Speed” stickers and badges…
…now we just get “Power Stroke”, “Cummins”, “DuraMax” and “Ego Boost” for SuperDutys and Rams
(this sounds a lot like 1980’s gay porn flick titles)
I expect these to be dispensed from a vending machine at a truck stop bathroom. Just pull the lever that says “ribbed, for her pleasure”.
She took no pleasure in this.
I’m a sucker for a good wedge and this thing looks great. It’s a shame the future we thought we were going to have back in the 80s isn’t what happened.
Idk, I’m kind of glad the futures from Blade Runner and Terminator haven’t happened (yet).
Well, the post-apocalyptic robot/AI uprising would make things difficult but I wish the cars had turned out as wedgy as we were promised.
There is a photo in the “the Cybertruck is good, actually” article that, if didn’t know better, I would’ve thought was a still from an 80s dystopian sci-fi film, so I wouldn’t be so sure about that…
I, too, am a sucker for a good wedge.
But this one doesn’t even have bacon chunks and blue cheese dressing.
(No, i’m not proud of myself.)
I am a fan of wedges in car design, not so much in salads. Seriously, the chef couldn’t just chop up the lettuce for me? I mean, they already cut it into a wedge so obviously they have the knife in their hands already so what’s the excuse? Here, I’ve done the absolute minimum amount of effort for your lunch, that’ll be $15 and don’t forget to tip your wait staff.
Wow, apparently I have opinions on how my roughage is served to me, even I’m surprised!
I’ll start by reiterating that i am not proud of myself. I mean, of course i’m not: it’s so hacky it almost doesn’t even qualify as a joke.
But can i tell you the non-obvious reason i’m not proud? Because (boy, this isn’t going to be easy to admit), to set up that absolute side-splitter, i opened with a straight-up lie. That’s right: i’m not actually a fan of wedge salads.
They’re total BS – for the reason you said, and also because that unwieldy quarter-head is the least-worthwhile lettuce known to man. The only thing iceberg brings to the table is its obvious cheapness. The chef is telling you, right to your face, “I not only put very nearly zero effort into this $15 menu item, but i also expended mere pennies of my restaurant’s budget. I feel only contempt for you. I fart in your general direction.”
I knew this place was filled with intelligent and discerning individuals 😉
No, he said “general” direction.