The NSX Type S returns with wild aero aiming to improve upon its record time up the hill.
Acura has announced its entries for the 2023 edition of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and they include a regular Integra, an Integra Type S, a crazy NSX Type S Active Aero Study nicknamed Yamabiko, and a TLX Type S. In addition, the pace car will be a TLX Type S PMC Edition.
The most exciting is doubtless Yamabiko, an NSX Acura created to improve its own Pikes Peak record in the Hybrid division. It's named after a mythological mountain god or spirit in Japanese folklore and boasts custom carbon fiber bodywork that was honed in the new Honda Automotive Laboratories of Ohio facility, claimed to be the world's most advanced wind tunnel.
This is the second project of Crazy New, a skunkworks division of Honda of America Racing Team (HART) that builds unique concepts and follows an IndyCar-powered Honda CR-V named Beast.
Unfortunately, Acura has not provided any new power figures, but this NSX Type S should be capable of breaking its own record thanks to developments like a dynamic rear wing that acts as a drag reduction system under acceleration and as an air brake when hitting the stoppers.
“It's by far the most extreme machine the Acura Race Team has ever raced to the clouds,” according to Honda engineer and experienced Pikes Peak competitor James Robinson, who will hopefully pilot the NSX to glory once again.
Another person looking to continue a tradition of racing excellence is Loni Unser, a fourth-generation contender whose family has been crowned at the Indy 500 nine times and at Pikes Peak 26 times over the generations, starting in 1926.
Unser's car is the HPD Integra Type S, and it will stand out thanks to a unique anime-style vinyl wrap that references the second season of Chiaki's Journey. Her most direct competitor will be Acura engineer Paul Hubers, who is returning for a second time to pilot a regular Integra built by HART. Another Acura engineer, Jordan Guitar, will be in a TLX Type S, also built by the team.
Each of these cars boasts an impressive shopping list. The Integra Type S gets a custom hood, front splitter, and swan-neck carbon fiber rear wing, along with a Borla exhaust, 19-inch Titan 7 wheels, and Yokohama Advan A005 rubber, while the Integra 1.5T features Bilstein dampers with Eibach springs, an HPD TCA suspension kit, a Cusco Racing limited-slip differential, lightweight 18-inch forged wheels from HRE with the abovementioned Advan rubber, HPD billet engine mounts, a Borla exhaust, an aero undercover, and a racing seat, steering wheel, and safety harness from OMP.
The NSX and the TLX are more comprehensively updated, boasting work under their respective hoods in addition to their suspension and aero. For example, the TLX Type S that HART built gets a bigger turbo and more engine cooling to compensate, retuning of the engine, transmission, and AWD system, a one-inch drop in suspension, race-spec brake pads, and a composite front splitter, rear wing, and dive planes. A carbon fiber hood and lightweight 19-inch HRE forged wheels contribute to weight reduction of over 600 pounds, so this should be competitive.
The HART NSX Type S Active Aero Study gets larger turbochargers, updated engine management software, and a custom front splitter, rear diffuser, and active rear wing. This car is 200 lbs lighter than stock and again features lightweight forged wheels from HRE wrapped in Advan A005 tires.
This will be Acura's 13th consecutive year racing for the title of King of the Mountain. We'll see how the brand does on Sunday, June 25.
Keyword: Acura Integra, NSX, And TLX Will Champion Type S Performance At Pikes Peak