Honda Racing has formally announced the launch of its new race car, the HSV-010 GT. HSV stands for Honda Sports Velocity and not, Holden Special Vehicles as is often mistaken to be. Honda’s latest racer is based on a recent NSX variant – Honda V10, the project had to be abandoned due to the recession that started in 2008.

The HSV-010 GT measures 184 inches long with a 106.3 inches wheelbase. Weighing 1100 kg, which is a mere 2425 pounds, the features include a normally aspirated DOHC 3.4-liter V8 liquid-cooled engine (as required by the racing series rules) with 2 intake and 2 exhaust valves per cylinder delivering more than 500-hp with a torque of 289lb-ft.

As per GT500 regulations, Honda’s new mean machine possesses a  Ricardo sequential manual gearbox with paddle shifters on the steering column which channels all the power to the rear wheels. The car has 330/40R18 tires in the front, rather odd- and 330/45R17s in the rear. Speed specifications have not  been revealed nor the compression ratio of the engine.

The chassis of the Honda racer works on double wishbones, a torsion-bar stabilizer and hydraulic ventilated disc brakes, as well as rack-and-pinion electric power steering. Honda plans to campaign the car in the GT500 class of Japan’s 2010 Super GT Series, in the opening race weekend slated at Suzuka Circuit in south-central Japan in late March and is going to be a strong competitor to Nissan’s racing fleet.