Honda NSX to tackle Pikes Peak

Three-car factory assault on legendary Colorado hillclimb.

A TRIO of 2016 HONDA NSX supercars will form a factory-backed assault on the 2016 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 26. Two of NSXs will compete in the Time Attack classes, with a third competing in the Electric Modified Vehicle Class.

The two time attack NSXs tackling the 19.98km, 156-turn Colorado hillclimb will be steered by brothers James and Nick Robinson, both members of the company’s North American engineering team, where the NSX is sold under the Acura brand.

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James, who has competed at Pike’s Peak for the last four years in an original NSX, will drive a production version of the new supercar in the Time Attack 1 class, with changes limited to weight reduction and a freer flowing exhaust. Brother Nick will enter the Time Attack 2 class in a stock NSX bar roll-cage and mandated safety gear. Both NSX’s will use the factory twin-turbo V6, nine-speed dual-clutch transmission and three-motor Sport-Hybrid All-wheel drive (SH-AWD) system.

It’ll be down to Tetsuya Yamano, who competed on the mountain in 2015 in a Honda CR-Z, to drive the four-motor EV Concept that boasts four-wheel independent torque feed, in what Honda describes as “the ultimate embodiment” of “Electric SH-AWD”.

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“Pikes Peak is like no other race in the world and offers a unique opportunity to showcase the power and performance of our products,” said vice president of Acura North America, Jon Ikeda.

The legendary has seen a renaissance somewhat in the last few years, with Peugeot – who battled furiously with Audi in the 1980s for the race record – using nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb to lower the time of the now fully-paved contest to 8m13.878sec.

The road-going Honda NSX will arrive in Australia this November, with an estimated starting price of around $300,000.