Video: Hybrid Honda CR-V race car teased with wild sound

Honda is set to unveil the most radical iteration of its CR-V family SUV this week – but don’t expect it to arrive in your local showroom.

Honda’s North American division has published a brief video clip on YouTube showing the hybrid CR-V prototype – which will be a demonstration vehicle showcasing its hybrid technology – testing on a racing circuit in the US desert.

The sixth-generation Honda CR-V-based race car is fitted with a massive front splitter, rear spoiler, pumped-up wheel arches and bespoke carbon-fibre bodywork, with few parts of the production vehicle on sale in the US remaining.

Honda claims the CR-V "Hybrid Racer" will develop up to 800 horsepower – approximately 600kW – thanks to a combination of petrol power and electric motors.

The Japanese car-maker is yet to confirm what petrol engine is powering the CR-V, though its exhaust note sounds similar to the 2.2-litre twin-turbo V6 which Honda produces for the North American IndyCar open-wheel racing series.

A teaser image shared by Honda shows the engine’s red camshaft covers appear to be identical to its IndyCar engine – albeit with additional high-voltage wiring for the car’s hybrid system.

Inside, there are two racing seats, a race-ready roll cage, and a hi-tech, Formula One-style steering wheel which also appears to have been carried across from an IndyCar racer.

While Honda hasn’t announced what the car will be used for, its race-derived engine and aerodynamics could be well suited to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the US – a 156-corner sprint up a mountain road in Colorado – which will take place in late June 2023.

Honda is set to reveal its hybrid CR-V race car – and the intended purpose of the vehicle – on March 1 Australian time.