SUPER GT: Honda Civic GT500 set for July public test debut

One 2024 car from each of the three GT500 manufacturers, Honda, Toyota and Nissan, is expected to take part in the two-day test on July 25-26.

Although not yet officially announced by the GTA, it is expected the test will be open to fans and media.

Honda unveiled the Civic Type R-GT Concept at the start of this year at the Tokyo Auto Salon as it prepares to retire the second-generation NSX-GT that has raced in one form or another since the 2014 season.

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Initially, the Civic's introduction was planned to coincide with the arrival of new GT500 regulations, but the GTA has since announced that the current chassis will remain in service for a further season before a replacement comes in 2025.

However, manufacturers will still be free to introduce new base models as the aerodynamic freeze that is currently in place for 2023 will be lifted.

While Honda is set to take advantage of this to swap the NSX-GT - based on a road car it no longer sells - for the Civic Type R-GT, Toyota and Nissan appear likely to stick with their existing models, the GR Supra and Z respectively.

Toyota first introduced the GR Supra at the start of the current GT500 rules cycle in 2020, winning the title the following year, while Nissan's Z only debuted in 2022, taking the championship in its first season.

With a new cycle of GT500 regulations now set to begin in 2025, it appears likely that Toyota and Nissan would have the option of introducing new base models at that juncture should they wish.

The current SUPER GT season will resume at Fuji Speedway the week after the 2024 test on August 5-6.