Honda has just woken up a monster. They put a video on YouTube of the HSV-010 GT race car, and the noise is absolutely terrifying. The engine screams because it comes from a Formula Nippon design, allowing you to hear every single explosion inside the cylinders when the driver blips the throttle. It is the rawest sound you will hear all year. Honda is doing this to show us where they came from while they think about the next NSX.
This sudden revival brings us back to the era when this machine was first conceived.
Flashback
In 2007, the world was a different place. Acura showed off a concept car in Detroit called the ASCC. It had a V10 engine sitting right at the front. Everyone thought this was the new NSX. Then the global money markets crashed in 2008. Honda got scared and binned the whole project for the road. But they still needed a car for the Super GT series because the old NSX was too slow. So they built the HSV-010 GT instead.
It was a race car based on a road car that never existed.
It was a ghost in the machine.
To understand the soul of this ghost, one must look at the specific engineering that allowed it to haunt the track.
Zoom In
Under the bodywork sits the HR10E engine. This is a very special piece of metal—a 3.4-liter, 90-degree V8 that produces over 500 horsepower without any turbos. Most modern race cars use turbos that muffle the sound, but not this one. The exhaust pipes are tuned to a specific length to create that high-pitched wail. In the footage of the car, the needle moves faster than a human eye can blink. That is the magic of a low-inertia racing engine.
The engine's power is matched only by the radical layout of the chassis itself.
The Mechanical Secrets Powering A Carbon Fiber Legend
Engineers pushed the V8 engine as far back as possible behind the front wheels. This created a front-midship layout. It gives the car a very strange balance that makes it turn into corners like a dart. The car uses an Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox.
You don't use a clutch pedal to shift gears once you are moving.
You just pull a lever and the car bangs into the next gear in milliseconds.
During its life, the car used massive carbon fiber ducks and wings to suck it to the ground.
It stayed so flat in the corners that it looked like it was on rails.
And it used a flat-floor design to create a vacuum under the chassis.
With such a formidable mechanical package, the decision to keep it away from public roads remains a point of debate for enthusiasts. I think Honda was crazy to cancel the road car version of this. Imagine driving to the shops in a monster that looks like a spaceship!
We ended up with a hybrid V6 years later, which is fine, but it lacks the soul of this V8. This car represents a time when engineers were allowed to be loud and proud.
The HSV-010 GT even won the championship in its very first year in 2010. Drivers like Takashi Kogure and Loïc Duval beat everyone else with this rebel on the track.
We need more of this radical thinking today.
Beyond its racing pedigree, the car carries a legacy of technical trivia that few fans fully realize.
Hidden Secrets Of The Ghost Of Motegi
Did you know that the "HSV" in the name actually stands for Honda Sports Velocity? It is a very literal name for a very fast car. The car actually had to get a special waiver from the Japan Automobile Federation to even race. Rules said GT500 cars must be based on production models, but the organizers let Honda race this prototype because they didn't want to lose the brand from the grid. This car is essentially a "what-if" scenario brought to life.
Current Timeline: April 2026. The car is currently being maintained at the Honda Collection Hall.
Places of Interest: Twin Ring Motegi in Japan is where you can see this car in person.
You can also visit the Suzuka Circuit where it took its most famous wins.
Additional Reads: Look up the 2010 Super GT Season results on the official Super GT World website.
Check out the technical drawings of the HR10E engine on the Honda Racing Gallery site.
The Flaming Side-Exhaust: One of the most unique things about this car is the exhaust exit. Most cars dump air out the back. The HSV-010 GT blasts its fire out of the sides, right behind the front wheels.
At night races, the sides of the car glow a bright, cherry red. It is a visual masterpiece that looks like the car is literally breathing fire as it downshifts.
This is way more exciting than any modern electric racer.
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