For the 12th consecutive year, Acura will challenge the steep incline of the annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb competition and will do so using three members of its current lineup. As with their previous efforts, this year’s campaign is based entirely on company volunteers with R&D Engineer hot shoes taking the driving duties.
This year’s Pikes Peak event is hardly routine, however, as it will serve as the all-new Acura Integra’s official motorsports debut and as such, the hotly anticipated new hatchback has been mildly modified with more performance-oriented braking, stiffer suspension, and a more aggressive differential-all of which are sourced through the Honda Performance Development (HPD) catalog. The original turbocharged 1.5-liter I-4 pulled from the Honda Civic Si maintains its factory output.
’80s Flashback
Along with the fresh HPD bits you’ll notice the factory 19-inch wheels have been downsized to a lighter set of 18×9 HRE rollers wrapped in Pirelli slicks, and appropriate safety equipment was also added. And, if the livery looks familiar to you long-term Honda fans, you might recall the very first-generation Integra wore something very similar as it went to battle and earned back-to-back IMSA championship finishes in 1987 and ’88 piloted by Parker Johnstone.
A step up from Acura’s entry-level chassis will be a pair of TLX Type S sedans dressed to the nines. A custom front splitter and dual canards, one of which stretches all the way back to the middle of the fender arch, give the sporty sedan’s upscale front end a menacing glare. An HRE/Pirelli combo will also accompany the TLXs while and out back, a massive rear wing sits just above the roofline.
The Enforcers
If the new ‘teg and TLX duo weren’t enough, some additional firepower comes by way of the brand’s flagship and most powerful factory Acura ever: the NSX Type S. Two examples have been enlisted and both converted to race spec with low-slung front splitters, aggressive wings, and more. The duo will be piloted by James and Nick Robinson, with both brothers vying to improve on their personal best, and both setting their sights on the current hybrid fuel class record which was set back in 2020 by James Robison himself.
The 100th running of Pikes Peak takes place on June 26 and as with year’s past, will welcome a huge variety of competitors from all walks of motorsport life.
Keyword: 2023 Acura Integra Making its Motorsports Debut at Pikes Peak In Retro Clothing