HPD ARX-04b in the way of return?

HPD tried to follow its way of successful prototypes entering in the coupé territory with the HPD ARX-04b, following the trend of other manufacturers. But the debut of the new car wasn't even near the best possible, along with the fact that HPD won't continue in the LMP2 class after 2017 by force of regulations. But it seems that the car may be in the way of a return to the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.

With the fact that the current spec cars may be eligible in American soil until the end of 2017, HPD is preparing the car for a return with Michael Shank Racing doing the initial testing of the car, which comes with significant upgrades, including updated aero and the new 3.5-liter engine that is being used this year by MSR and Tequila Patrón ESM, incontestable winners of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

HPD vice-president and COO Steve Eriksen gave a word to Sportscar365 on his plans for the car and that is left is to find a team to settle a deal, and stated that his preference would be teams that would still be unsure to grab one of the new LMP2 machines, giving them time to see how every model performs while using a solid platform to be on track. This kind of attitude was a trend in the LMP3 class in Europe, with a small field of Ginettas becoming a huge Ligier grid.

Eriksen stated that his reason in the decision of finding a customer is that HPD don't have the financial resources to fully fund a team to run the ARX-04b and a team conditions to run it should be a good way to go.

PHOTO: HPD