Acura's Pikes Peak racers are being driven and crewed by its own engineers
This marks the brand's biggest-ever participation in one of America's most legendary racing events.
Acura announced on Wednesday that it is going to back Pikes Peak. This time it's bringing with five cars, four of which are being crewed and driven by Acura engineers.
Specifically, it's bringing a stock NSX , an MDX Sport Hybrid, an RSX A-Spec and a time-attack-prepped NSX. Oh, Acura's also bringing the RealTime Racing TLX GT, you know, for fun or something.
These four production-based vehicles (plus one actual race car) represent the most extensive field that Acura has ever fielded at Pikes Peak, and that's significant for a number of reasons, but perhaps most importantly, it could signal a return to form for a formerly great maker of sporty, fun cars that's lost its way in recent years.
Acura is running a pair of NSX models, an RDX and this MDX Hybrid up Pikes Peak this year with Acura engineers as drivers.
Now, that isn't to say that Honda's fancier sister has been absent from America's most significant hill climb, because it's managed to finish the event every year for the last eight years. That's no mean feat. Even more, Acura has ended up on the podium more than a few times there, too.
It's not just the five racing cars that Acura is bringing to Pikes Peak either. The brand is supplying the official pace car for the event -- a bright Thermal Orange Pearl NSX -- which makes sense. The NSX is a perfect pace car for a race that sees its finish at over 14,000-feet of elevation, what with its turbocharged engine and hybrid drive system.
Pikes Peak is set to take place on June 30, and it promises to be once again a total spectacle with record attempts being planned by the likes of Bentley and Ducati, among others.
Acura didn't immediately respond to Roadshow's request for comment.
