Honda Racing Corporation USA is pointing a 1,300-horsepower race truck at the Baja desert. The Honda Passport Baja Spec, built to compete in the top Trophy Truck class of the 2027 SCORE World Desert Championship, will make its global debut at a private event in Downtown Los Angeles on October 29, then appear publicly at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas from November 3 through 6. Two-time Baja 1000 winner Bryce Menzies will drive it.
That 1,300-hp figure is worth pausing on. The Trophy Truck Unlimited class typically fields highly modified engines rated around 850 hp. Honda is arriving with roughly 450 hp more than the segment norm, citing technology drawn from its Formula 1, IndyCar, and IMSA programs. HRC has not shared powertrain specifics beyond the headline output number, including engine displacement, forced induction configuration, or the chassis architecture underneath the Passport body.
The racing debut is slated for the 2027 SCORE Baja 500, giving the program several months of development time before it runs in the desert. Whether the truck lines up for the Baja 1000 later in 2027 has not been announced.
Honda’s off-road credibility on the peninsula runs deep. Dave Ekins and Bill Robertson Jr. completed a Tijuana-to-La Paz run on Honda CL72 motorcycles in 1962, nearly five years before the Baja 1000 became an official race. On two wheels, Honda has amassed 22 overall Baja victories since. On four, HRC’s off-road program has earned 17 class victories since 2015, including four Baja 1000 wins and five Baja 500 triumphs, all in classes below Trophy Truck’s unlimited top tier. The Passport Baja Spec represents the program’s move into the premier class.
Menzies brings credentials that match the ambition. His two Baja 1000 overall wins, combined with a world-record truck jump of 379.4 feet, make him one of the most recognized names in desert racing. Menzies Motorsports and Race Service are co-hosting the Los Angeles reveal.
HRC’s SEMA presence this year extends beyond the Passport Baja Spec. The organization recently announced its first retail HRC Performance Parts, including forged wheels and Borla exhausts for the Civic Type R, Integra Type S, and Passport, with sales opening in March 2027. The race truck and the performance parts catalog are separate programs, but together they signal an HRC that is actively expanding its footprint beyond pure motorsport support.
A 1,300-hp Honda heading to Baja is a statement. Whether the desert agrees is a question Menzies will start answering at the 2027 Baja 500.
Source: Honda. Images courtesy of Honda.
