2004 Honda Element

Amid a pack of Fits in the Honda booth at the 2006 SEMA show, it wasn't a cute subcompact, or a concept car, or a factory-blessed JDM Civic, but a bright orange rectilinear SUV in a back corner that got the most stares. Dubbed the Element-D, it was almost jarring to absorb at first, given its neon paint, spare, raced-out cabin, and fabricated aluminum monstrosity affixed to the head of the non-native V6 under the hood. It was kind of like seeing your virginal daughter come home from her first concert with her head shaved, skin inked, and sporting more piercings than the kid behind the counter at Nothing Shocking.

That initial surprise probably turned to disbelief when folks learned the aberrant utility vehicle was created to compete in the '07 Formula D Championship, the preeminent drifting series in the U.S. And exactly who was nuts enough to believe they could get Honda's trendy S.U.V. going sideways long enough to link up several turns? Why, none other than the brainiacs that inhabit Honda R&D Americas in Raymond, Ohio, that's who.

If the name sounds familiar, it should. HRDA is the same place that bore Team Honda Research rally and three 25 Hours of Thunderhill enduro efforts. Keep in mind, none of these have been officially sanctioned Honda productions, per se. The company comes up with many of the OE parts, sure, but the aftermarket gear requires personal legwork (and sometimes resources), and the labor is done entirely off company time. It is, however, a labor of love.

The story behind this latest piece of R&D geekery gone awry actually sort of fell into our lap. Our trusted lensman Rodrez made a connection with HDRA Engine Systems/Drivability Engineer James Robinson via the Web, one of a handful of primary developers on the Element-D project, and passed along Robinson's contact info to us. Over the course of the next few months we scrambled to get photographs and info on the iconoclastic machine, just to be the first ones to the punch. That meant tracking down Robinson in Alaska, where he was testing, to respond to our questions. The answers he provided were ultimately delayed further when a weather emergency (severe snow) greeted him as he returned to Ohio.