Ridgeline

Make
Honda
Segment
Sports Car

With SEMA 2022 drawing near, the team over at Hoonigan is readying its latest build - a Honda Ridgeline powered by an IndyCar engine. But it's not as simple as fitting the Japanese truck with a 700-horsepower motor. No, this build poses a few challenges for the talented Hoonigan crew to deal with first.

The powerful V6 engine, when fitted to an IndyCar racer, serves as a stress member. As such, everything mounts onto the engine. That's great in a lightweight vehicle, but it's less than ideal in a hefty Ridgeline. Unsurprisingly, weight is the biggest issue. The clutch, for example, has been designed for a featherweight IndyCar.

"The limiting force is going to be the size of that clutch, and if you try to put a big, heavy car on a clutch like that, it's just going to slide the clutch [and it] won't go anywhere. Weight is a huge factor," explains Suppy Wejpanich.

The 2017 Ridgeline previously belonged to Honda Performance Development (HPD), where it was used to test out accessories and modifications for the vehicle. With no use for the vehicle anymore, HPD sent the vehicle over to Hoonigan.

To get rid of the weight, the team plans to replace the front and rear cross-members, with plans to build a custom front cross-member that will work with the NSX's double-wishbone front suspension. It sounds like a Frankenstein build of sorts, and it is - the Ridgeline is shaping up to be one of Hoonigan's wildest creations yet - and that's saying a lot.

"We're going to go through the Acura catalog, pick out a bunch of parts, and we're going to make it fit," quips Wejpanich.

He notes that the Ridgeline will essentially be half NSX and half IndyCar, with the new doors made from a composite material.

From the back door onward, the vehicle will be an empty shell, saving plenty of weight. Wejpanich is confident the team can shed 2,000 pounds of weight from the Ridgeline.

The team quickly gets to work, stripping the Ridgeline of all unnecessary components and embellishments. Because the Ridgeline isn't on a lift, the Hoonigan crew has to get creative and find another way of liberating the stock V6 engine from the body. The powerplant is placed on a pallet, while a forklift does the heavy lifting. Soon, and with minimal fuss, the team is one step closer to its goal.

Before much longer, the entire truck bed, doors, and interior are removed, leaving nothing but a blank canvas for Hoonigan to work with. Things are off to a good start, with the team deciding to weigh the stripped Ridgeline.

The figure beats Wejpanich's original estimate, with a whopping 3,591 lbs of weight removed from the truck. The chassis tips the scales at a mere 980 lbs. An additional 179 lbs of weight is saved once the bed frame is chopped off the Ridgeline's rear.

Soon, the body is ready to be married to the engine. Hoonigan has gone for a mid-engine setup, as is favored by IndyCars. That's all we get to see for now, but expect the next video in the series to drop soon.

The online installment will continue to document the exhaustive build and showcase just how much work goes into creating something as phenomenal as this. If previous builds are anything to go by, we cannot wait to see what the Ridgeline looks like when it's revealed at SEMA 2022, which takes place on November 1-4.