The new ARX-05's livery and lineup harkens back to the 90s.
Acura may not have the extensive racing pedigree that some marques tout, but it does have its share of motorsport history – especially in IMSA sports-car competition here in North America. And it's tapped into that heritage with the new ARX-05.
The Japanese luxury automaker's latest sports racing prototype, the ARX-05 is set to take on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this season under the auspices of the joint Acura Team Penske, wearing the vivid throwback livery of neon orange and black over white, borrowed from the old NSX-powered prototypes from the '90s.
The Acura Spice GTP positively dominated the IMSA's Camel Lights championship nearly two decades ago, winning the title three years running from 1991 through '93.
"This is a natural look for Acura prototypes, and a salute to our heritage as a performance brand," said Acura's creative director Dave Marek. "The Acura brand was founded in 1986, and its debut in motorsports soon followed. Today, we're proud to unveil a livery that accurately reflects our long, successful history in North American racing – and look forward to adding new chapters to the story of Acura Precision Crafted Performance."
The livery isn't the only tie that binds the new ARX-05 to the old Spice GTPs: one of the team's drivers (Ricky Taylor) is the son of Wayne Taylor, and another (Dane Cameron) is the nephew of Steve Cameron, both of whom were part of the original lineup.
Dane will share the #6 car with Juan Pablo Montoya and Simon Pagenaud, and Taylor will pilot the #7 car with Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi when the ARX-05 Daytona Prototypes mark their race debut in the Rolex 24 later this month at the Daytona International Speedway.
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