News

Aston Martin confirmed that it plans to enter the top class for the WEC and IMSA championships, which include the famous 24-hour races at Le Mans and Daytona.The race car Aston Martin will field will be based on track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro. The Le Mans-spec Valkyrie will join the competition in 2025, facing off against tough pack of Hypercar rivals.Racing was always part of the plan for the Aston Martin Valkyrie. But early attempts to ready it for the proposed Hypercar endurance racing class were put on ice in 2020 shortly after Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll took a stake in the British sports car maker. His ownership of what was then the Racing Point F1 team, now Aston Martin Racing, effectively ended the original plans for the competition Valkyrie to be jointly developed with Formula 1 rivals Red Bull Racing.Aston MartinIn 2021 Aston reassured us that it still planned to take the Valkyrie racing and now, after a long wait, the company has confirmed that its hypercar will have the chance to earn motorsport glory. Starting in 2025, the Valkyrie will compete in the increasingly crowded Hypercar class in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech Championship in the U.S., where the class is called GTP. The entries in both series will be run by the U.S.-based Heart of Racing team, with at least one car entering each round of both championships. This means the Valkyrie will race in three of the most famous endurance races in the world: the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 at Daytona, and 12 Hours of Sebring.More on the Valkyrie HypercarThe track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro was originally designed to satisfy WEC’s LMH regulations for the Hypercar class. These were later joined by IMSA’s LMDh regulations, where competitors choose a chassis from one of four constructors and use a high percentage of off-the-shelf components to minimize costs. But since the Hypercar and GTP classes are open to both LMH and LMDh cars, Aston Martin will keep the racing Valkyrie as an LMH entrant. That gives more freedom in design, but it also stipulates that the hybrid system must add at least some power to the front axle. Since the Valkyrie road car’s electric assistance is sent entirely to the rear axle, the Valkyrie will—as with the Glickenhaus SCG 007—compete without a hybrid system.Despite different technology across both classes, Hypercar racing is intended to be equalized by a comprehensive set of Balance of Performance restrictions, ensuring that cars enter each event on a level playing field. The aerodynamic targets for downforce and drag are the same for both LMH and LMDh contenders, as are the limits for minimum weight and maximum power. Aston MartinAston confirmed that the racing Valkyrie will continue to use the 6.5-liter V-12 engine, although BoP will doubtless require a reduction to the AMR Pro’s 1001hp output. For reference, back in 2021 Aston told us that the civilian-grade AMR Pro was reckoned to be capable of a 3 minute 20 second lap of the Le Mans circuit, only fractionally slower than the pace of the Toyota’s race-winning LMP1 car that year.The Valkyrie will face tough competition, with what will likely be packed grids for the Hypercar and GTP classes. In addition to 2023’s roster—WEC saw Cadillac, Ferrari, Glickenhaus, Peugeot, Porsche, Toyota and Vanwall compete, with BMW and Acura also in IMSA—Alpine and Lamborghini are set to join next year. Yet in one area the Valkyrie should be assured victory, being, as Aston put it, “the first purebred hypercar to participate in both championships, and the only one among its rivals that can trace its origins back to an existing production car.” Aston has already taken 19 class victories at Le Mans over the years, as well as an overall victory in 1959 with the DBR1 driven by Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby. This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Senior European CorrespondentOur man on the other side of the pond, Mike Duff lives in Britain but reports from across Europe, sometimes beyond. He has previously held staff roles on UK titles including CAR, Autocar and evo, but his own automotive tastes tend towards the Germanic, owning both a troublesome 987-generation Porsche Cayman S and a Mercedes 190E 2.5-16. More

The 2024 Honda Passport receives mild updates, which most notably include making the TrailSport trim more capable.Now with all-terrain tires and a revised suspension, the TrailSport can tackle tougher off-road obstacles than before.The Passport also adds a wider center console with more storage space, and the Black Edition replaces the Elite as the top trim.Since the nameplate returned for 2019, the Honda Passport has provided a mid-size, two-row alternative to the larger three-row Pilot SUV. Now that the Pilot has entered a new generation and adopted a new platform, the Passport is waiting in the wings for a similar transformation. In the meantime, it gets subtle updates that improve the interior and make the TrailSport trim more capable than before.A More Serious TrailSportWhen the Passport lineup introduced the off-road-oriented TrailSport a couple years ago, its rugged looks wrote a check its actual capabilities couldn’t cash. The optional HPD package took it a step further, adding a different grille, black fender flares, and HPD graphics. Too bad the tougher visage was undermined by all-season tires and the same suspension as every other Passport. Thankfully, Honda rectifies those missteps with the 2024 TrailSport, which now wears knobbier General Grabber ATX all-terrain tires. Its spring rates and dampers are retuned, and the anti-roll bars have been revised for better articulation and ride quality when the pavement ends. Along with a set of freshly designed 18-inch wheels, the TrailSport’s front and rear tracks are now 0.4 inch wider.Honda also introduces the HPD+ package that includes a unique grille, black overfenders, and 20-inch wheels. The list of available Honda accessories is also expanded to include underbody protection. The pretty Diffused Sky Blue paint that debuted on the new Pilot TrailSport is also now available on the Passport TrailSport.Passport Gets a New Center ConsoleInside, the 2024 Passport is largely the same as last year. The one big change is the wider center console. Not only does Honda claim it can now swallow a full-size tablet, but it has a larger cubby in front of the shifter that can hold two smartphones side by side. The addition of large armrests is designed to make the front seat a more comfortable place to hang out.Those looking for the most lavish experience—relatively speaking—will cast their attention towards the top-of-the-line Passport, which is no longer the Elite trim level, as it is replaced by the Black Edition. Previously, the moniker was used as an appearance package, but now it stands alone. The Black Edition, as its name implies, has dark exterior elements such as 20-inch wheels, badges, a grille, and body molding all in black. It also comes standard with perforated leather upholstery, ventilated front seats, and heated rear seats. It’s the only trim with red contrast stitching and matching ambient interior lighting.The 2024 Honda Passport will reach dealership this fall. The company hasn’t yet released pricing, but we don’t expect costs to rise too much. The outgoing base model started at $42,475, the TrailSport started at $44,975, and the Elite started at $47,935. Expect each of those to increase by $1000 or so.Honda Passport ReviewsThis content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Senior EditorEric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si. More