The famed Penske name will return to the top level of North American sportscar racing with a Daytona Prototype International entry in 2018.
Team Penske has joined forces with Honda Performance Development and its racing arm, Acura Motorsports, to become the fourth DPi factory programme alongside Cadillac, Mazda and Nissan.
The Acura ARX-05 is based on the European-style ORECA 07 chassis, and will compete in the top Prototype class of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.
The car will make its competition debut at the Daytona 24 Hours in January, and will be powered by a production-based, twin-turbocharged 3.5 litre V6 engine derived from Acura's production models.
It marks the return of Team Penske to sportscar competition, following a successful multi-year campaign with Porsche in the American Le Mans Series that heralded an overall victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2009.
“We are excited to join forces with the Honda Performance Development family and represent the Acura brand with two prototypes starting in 2018,” said Team Penske founder Roger Penske.
“Sports car racing has been an integral part of Team Penske’s heritage, from our first race at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1966 to running the American Le Mans Series in the late 2000s."
"Reviving a Team Penske sports car program has always been a goal for us, but to do so required strong and successful partners like Honda and Acura."
"It’s great to extend our relationship from the dealership to the race track and we are excited to come back to IMSA and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.”
Although based on the ORECA frame, the Acura ARX-05 will feature unique sets of bodywork to distinguish it from its LMP2 cousin.
It continues the nomenclature of Acura's previous sports prototype models, starting with the ARX-01 which debuted in 2007.
The brand began its sportscar journey in the GT ranks, and will continue to run its GT3 programme alongside the DPi effort next season.
“Roger Penske is already an important part of the Acura family as one of our great Acura dealers, and now it is a thrill to have him as part of the Acura Motorsports family as well,” said Jon Ikeda, Acura senior vice president and general manager.
“We look forward to building on the success of the race-winning NSX GT3 program, and couldn’t be more thrilled to return to the prototype category of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a partner like Team Penske.”
The ARX-05 will be formally unveiled at the Monterey car week in August, while a driver announcement is set to follow at a later date.
Several names from the Penske IndyCar stable have already been put forward for the Acura DPi, including three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and seven-time Formula One grand prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya.
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