Meet the Passport Baja Spec Trophy Truck. It’s a purpose-built desert racer packing over 1300 bhp, a twin-turbo V6 and an advanced hybrid system. And no, this isn’t a heavily modified showroom Passport. It’s a full-blown racing machine with one rather ambitious target: winning the Baja 1000. Honda has teamed up with Mason Motorsports, a specialist in trophy truck chassis, and Baja racing champion Bryce Menzies to develop the machine. Underneath the Passport-inspired bodywork sits a Mason Motorsports Gen 2 chassis, with an impressive 25 inches of suspension travel at the front and 32 inches at the rear. In other words, it’s built to take some serious punishment over the roughest sections of desert terrain.
The drivetrain is equally unconventional. Instead of the massive naturally aspirated V8s commonly found in Trophy Trucks, Honda has opted for a mid-mounted 2.4-litre twin-turbocharged V6 paired with an 800-volt hybrid system. Combined output exceeds 1300 bhp, making it a rather formidable contender against rivals that typically rely on large-displacement V8 engines producing around 1100 bhp.
There’s some serious racing pedigree behind that powertrain, too. The V6 is derived from the engine used in Acura’s ARX-06 endurance racing prototype, a machine that has already tasted victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona. The hybrid hardware also draws on Honda Racing Corporation’s experience in top-level motorsport. Its battery pack uses pouch cells housed in a carbon-fibre enclosure, with the technology originating from the previous generation of Formula 1 cars. The truck uses a specially developed five-speed transmission and an unusual all-wheel-drive arrangement. The rear wheels have independent driveshafts and gearing at each hub, while the front wheels receive power through portal axles. This keeps vulnerable drivetrain components tucked higher up, reducing the chances of smashing them against rocks and other obstacles. And there’s also a massive 550 litre carbon-kevlar fuel cell. Clearly, Honda isn’t taking any chances when it comes to range.
The Passport Baja Spec will make its competitive debut at the 2027 Baja 500 on June 2, 2027, before Honda takes on the bigger challenge: the 60th anniversary edition of the Baja 1000 on November 14, 2027. Honda has already enjoyed considerable success in off-road racing, but winning the premier Trophy Truck class would be a significant achievement.
