Honda Passport Baja Spec Hybrid Trophy Truck Targets Overall Baja 1000 Victory with 1,300+ HP

Honda Racing Corporation USA unveiled its Passport Baja Spec Trophy Truck at a private downtown Los Angeles event, with the first public appearance scheduled for SEMA 2026 in Las Vegas from November 3 to 6 in the HRC booth. This purpose-built racer becomes the first hybrid-powered vehicle entered in the SCORE World Desert Championship top Trophy Truck class. A mid-mounted 2.4-liter twin-turbocharged all-aluminum V6 sits behind the cab and works with an 800-volt hybrid system to produce more than 1,300 horsepower.

That V6 is based on the engine used in Acura’s ARX-06 GTP prototype, which recently won the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Honda’s racing outfit in the United States, HRC US, went on to design the combustion engine and its accompanying hybrid system wholly in-house at their California headquarters. These two factors combined to outperform the output of the enormous, normally aspirated 9-liter V8 engines that still power today’s Trophy Trucks.

The electric part of the powertrain is made up of a super lightweight battery pack that was produced in a brand new clean room at the Santa Clarita facility, using pouch cells identical to those used in F1, and packaged in a carbon fiber container. The power is then routed through a Masomatic twin-angled 5-speed gearbox built by Mason Motorsports and installed on ahead of the V6. When you get to the back wheels, an all-wheel drive system sends torque rearward via a couple of driveshafts to a set of bevel gears mounted at the back of each wheel, and the Mason diff sends power to a portal gear set at the front hub to maximize ground clearance and allow camber and toe adjustments.

Mason Motorsports supplied the Gen 2 all-wheel drive chassis, and an HRC-specific rear frame piece was designed to accommodate the hybrid powerplant, batteries, and fluid tanks. The safety fuel cell is centrally situated in the cab, ensuring uniform weight distribution when the fuel runs out. Each corner features twin long travel suspension, Fox Racing shocks, and Toyo tires. The carbon fiber bodywork, which was designed using computational fluid dynamics, has numerous channels and tunnels that direct airflow to a rear cooler that is mounted as low as possible to reduce drag, and the new exhaust outlets are located high behind the driver and carry some aerodynamic fins.

This truck features cutting-edge electronics, a first in the class, including dual axle brake by wire, traction control, and AI power deployment, all courtesy of Honda’s F1, IndyCar, and IMSA programs. The proprietary software integrates the powertrain, chassis, and energy management into a single platform that can be updated throughout the race and modified for the driver, course, and changing conditions. HRC US president Kelvin Fu believes that this truck is fundamentally a car defined by its software, meaning that it can be reprogrammed.

Two-time Baja 1000 winner Bryce Menzies will drive the Passport Baja Spec through a partnership with Menzies Motorsports. Sponsors include Red Bull, AMSOIL, Toyo Tires, Baja Designs, Fox Shox, and Method Race Wheels. Competition begins at the 2027 Baja 500 on June 2–6, followed by an attempt at overall victory in the 2027 Baja 1000 as that race marks its 60th anniversary. Honda already holds 22 overall Baja 1000 wins, more than any other manufacturer, plus 17 class victories since 2015 that include four Baja 1000 class wins and five Baja 500 triumphs. At SEMA the truck appears alongside a new Passport TrailSport Baja Chase truck and other HRC machines.
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