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Honda invests $25m on hot-weather testing facility in Mojave

Situated in the Mojave Desert near Cantil, CA, the Honda Proving Center of California is a 4,255-acre facility incorporating a 7.5-mile high-speed oval and a 4.5-mile road course. The location also has a series of off-road routes for testing trucks, dirt bikes, and the like. It first opened in 1990 but ceased functioning twenty years later, after which we saw it listed for sale online. Honda evidently had a change of heart, and is now setting about refurbishing the facility and putting it back into active duty. Backed by an investment of $25 million, the warm-weather proving ground is set to reopen next April. Exact details of the renovation plan have not been announced, but the existing features are set to be refurbished and some new ones added to the site. Honda currently undertakes most of its vehicle testing in America at the Transportation Research Center located near its plants in East Liberty and Marysville, OH. It also operates to major proving grounds back home in Japan in Takasu and Tochigi, and a dedicated motorcycle R&D center with its own test track in Asaka. It also owns the Motegi complex, complete with road course and oval speedway, near its main facility in Tochigi. Related Video: Honda to Enhance California Proving Center in 2016 $25 million investment will renovate the warm weather testing facility Dec 8, 2015 - TORRANCE, Calif. Driven by the expanding responsibility for developing new automotive and power sports products in America and the related need for performance testing, Honda will invest $25 million to renovate the Honda Proving Center of California (HPCC) in the Mojave Desert near Cantil, California. The proving center, which was in operation from 1990 through 2010, is scheduled to reopen in April 2016. The 4,255-acre warm weather testing facility features a 7.5-mile high speed oval track and a 4.5-mile winding road course that will be completely refurbished. The renovations also will include the addition of some new vehicle test road enhancements to the property. "As we continue to accelerate our growth in the U.S. market with a competitive line up of cars and trucks designed and developed in the U.S., we are reinvesting in HPCC to create a world-class test facility," said John Mendel, executive vice president of the Automobile Division of American Honda Motor, Co., Inc.

Bisimoto's 911 and Honda Odyssey each pack 1,000 hp

There aren't a lot of vehicles on the road that pack a thousand horsepower. The Bugatti Veyron and McLaren P1 are in rare company, but there have been a handful of aftermarket tuners that have managed to extract that much power out of lesser vehicles. Bisimoto is responsible for more than its fair share, so Matt Farah and the team at Drive stopped by the workshop in Southern California to check out the craftsmanship for the latest episode of Tuned. What they found is two vehicles with that astronomical four-figure output that otherwise couldn't be more different from each other. First up is the vintage, stripped-out 911 that company founder Bisi Ezerioha built for himself. It's based on a 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera with a widebody kit and a pair of turbochargers hanging off the back. The result is that thousand-horsepower output and, as Farah found out, one of the scariest, hairiest, and squirliest automobiles ever devised. As if that weren't enough, there's a thousand-horsepower minivan on the docket, too. This one is based on a Honda Odyssey, rebuilt on an air suspension and a six-speed manual gearbox conversion out of an Acura TL. And of course the engine's been tuned to deliver that headline output figure. Honda and Bisimoto showcased the vehicle at the SEMA show a couple of years ago, where Farah says he didn't think it could possibly hold together. But as he discovered in the video above, it actually does, and accelerates with tenacity... and plenty of room for the kids.

2015 Pikes Peak Hill Climb: Practice Day 1

Based on what we learned from the first day of practice for the 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the quickest race pace up the paved road to more than 14,000 feet above sea level may not be from internal combustion locomotion anymore. "If it all goes well, and the planets align, [under nine minutes] shouldn't be out of the question," said Paul Wilding, team manager for Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima's Rimac Automobili Monster Sport E-Runner entry. Wilding added that if Tajima's car held up during the week it could finish first overall, which would be the first time an EV takes the overall crown at the hill climb. Last year, the gap between overall winner Romain Dumas' Norma M20 RD Limited and the fastest EV was just over two seconds. In the 2014 race, Tajima finished third in his class. "We think this car is the fastest way up now," said Wilding. "There's no affect from the altitude – this car is a monster, our driver is a monster." The practice, which isn't mandatory but is sanctioned by race officials, concluded Tuesday morning with a few surprises ahead of Sunday's race. Tajima will be racing for the fourth consecutive year in the all-electric modified division. Wilding said today's conditions weren't ideal and the race Sunday could be more challenging than initially expected. "It was a lot bumpier than we expected today," he said. "But today means nothing. It was all [reconnaissance]. Tomorrow means everything." The Honda ARX-04B LMP2 prototype brought to Pikes Peak had a difficult start to the week. Honda Racing spokesman Eric Mauck said the car struggled and didn't run in practice Tuesday. "We're looking for data and research more than anything else," Mauck said. "We're not going for Sebestain's record this year, we're just looking to gather information for years to come." Colorado-native, Honda driver, and Formula E racer Justin Wilson will pilot the LMP2 up the mountain Wednesday – assuming the car is ready. "He's obviously a guy that Honda thinks very highly of. Anytime we have an opportunity to put Justin behind the wheel of anything we want to," Mauck said. Honda driver Tetsuya Yamano, who is driving an all-electric Honda CR-Z in the exhibition class, echoed Mauck's assessment. "We're not making a racecar," Yamano said through an interpreter. "This is part of [research and development] and we're looking to get as much data back to engineers in Japan as possible ...