The 2016 Honda Ridgeline isn’t built to be an off-road monster, but that doesn’t mean a Ridgeline body fitted around a race car isn’t going to look awesome in the fury of the Baja 1000.

A few months ago Honda started hyping the second-generation Ridgeline by returning to off-road racing, and basically hinting at the design of the production vehicle with the race body.

Here it is in action, with and without the “skin” in place.

Honda’s Baja effort was a great marketing pitch; consumers would see the new Ridgeline as a badass race beast before they saw their kid’s soccer coach roll up in one.

Ridgeline Baja Race Truck did look good in the 2015 Baja 1000, which went down at the end of the year. It finished the 800-something mile run “trouble-free” in 25 hours, nine minutes and 47 seconds.

Honda’s calling it a “Class 2 victory” but not too loudly, because they ran unopposed.

SCORE’s Class 2 vehicles run 3.5 liter six-cylinder engines that can be turbocharged or supercharged. They have to weigh more than 2,000 pounds, but other than that are basically unlimited. Honda’s was the only entry in the 2015 Baja 1000.

Not to say finishing within the time limit isn’t a victory, because any vehicle that can survive a full day of multi-torture deserves a gold freaking star as far as I’m concerned.

Images via Honda Off-Road

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