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Honda NSX to tackle Pikes Peak

Three-car factory assault on legendary Colorado hillclimb

2016 Honda NSX PIkes Peak
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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.

Honda NSX Road
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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”.

Honda NSX 2016 Pikes 3 RESIZED
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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.

Damion Smy

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