This week we learned that Honda is shuffling its operations a little bit to make the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) its official in-house aftermarket part engineering house. A release teased that nine of its cars would be coming to the SEMA show in Las Vegas and mentioned a “Honda Pilot HRC Prototype” showcasing off-road concepts. Well, we finally got a picture of the thing and it’s bristling with every bro-tacular adventure rig mod, from a side-mounted fuel canister to a freaking winch bumper. There are some cool designs on display here, though. And you can’t say the idea isn’t radical.
The current Honda Pilot, the fourth-gen that dropped in 2022, is great on comfort and better on wheeling abilities than you might expect. In 2023, Honda introduced a TrailSport trim that bundles a nice combo of skid plates, knobby tires, and helpful traction-control calibration for respectable trail competence. The above-linked text takes you to my review of one on some moderate tracks in Colorado, and this video clip provides some more context on the TrailSport’s tech:
The Pilot HRC Prototype clearly takes this idea and pushes it much, much further. All the requisite parts that people love to buy for 4Runners and Wranglers are present. There’s a substantial lift (can’t tell how that’s achieved yet, we’ll have to have somebody take a peek at SEMA), tires with lots of sidewall, a steel bumper that looks like a locomotive axle, sleek roof rack, and I think I already mentioned the Rotopax fuel canister mounted to some kind of window-covering cargo system.
The Warn winch looks quite cleanly integrated, which is impressive because a winch is not small or light.
For the setup we’re seeing to really be functional, I’d imagine the Pilot would have to get significantly stiffer front springs to keep from turning that huge skid plate into a dirt plow.
I like the idea of a winch on a rig like this. Really, it’s a great insurance policy if and when you tread into mud, sand, or silt that’s a little too soft. And a modded Pilot is exactly the kind of vehicle that will be totally fine adventuring off pavement until suddenly it isn’t. Where some other rigs might have lockers or big power to fall back on, once one of these gets stuck, it’ll be stuck.
Personally, I am getting a little weary of the modern overlander starter pack look, but it’s still plenty popular… or, at least, I know more than a few 4Runners in my county are still lugging ladders and tents around town for cool points.
I’m genuinely excited to see what Honda ends up bringing to market here. A Honda Pilot with a great set of tires gets you a good dose of capability. Something like this HRC Prototype could get it closer to 4Runner looks with better driving dynamics and fuel economy.
Pricing and specific parts availability are still TBA, but I bet we’ll be able to get more intel as the 2024 SEMA show carries on.
Any of you ever go wheeling in an older Pilot? Shoot the author an email at andrew.collins@thedrive.com.