August 31, 2020 — TORRANCE, CALIF.
Acura captured a sixth consecutive podium at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, with driver James Robinson finishing third in the highly competitive Time Attack 1 class. Robinson’s time of 10:01.913 in a 2019 NSX, bested his previous fast time of 10:02.448 (set in 2018) to establish a new record for a production vehicle with a hybrid powertrain.
Two race prepared 2021 Acura TLXs made their motorsports debut at the 2020 “Race to the Clouds”, ahead of the second-generation sport sedan’s arrival at dealers on Sept. 28. Drivers Jordan Guitar and Justin Lumbard, both engineers at the company’s Ohio R&D Center, finished fifth and sixth in class, respectively.
Acura’s 2020 Pikes Peak Results:
|
Vehicle |
Driver |
Class |
2020 Result |
| 2019 NSX |
James Robinson |
Time Attack 1 |
10:01.913 |
| 2021 TLX 2.0T |
Jordan Guitar |
Exhibition Class |
11:37.219 |
| 2021 TLX 2.0T |
Justin Lumbard |
Exhibition Class |
12:10.008 |
A third 2021 TLX, an early development prototype for the upcoming Type S high performance variant, served as the hill climb’s official Pace Car. Driving the TLX Type S was Nick Robinson, a principal engineer in the company’s Chassis Development Group and Pikes Peak veteran with class wins on both two and four wheels and current front-wheel drive record holder.
Pikes Peak serves as a test bed for new Acura performance technologies and as an opportunity for the company’s engineers to further sharpen their performance-focused driving and engineering skills. The Acura Pikes Peak race team is comprised of a group of volunteer engineers who are responsible for all aspects of competition, including the development of vehicles, race prep, crew support and navigating race cars to the finish line.
About Acura Motorsports
Acura Motorsports programs have been integral to the Acura brand since its launch in 1986. The rich legacy of Acura sports car racing includes the 1991, 1992, and 1993 IMSA Camel Lights manufacturer/driver championships, and the 2009 American LeMans manufacturer, driver, and team championships in both the LMP1 and LMP2 classes. Acura currently campaigns the ARX-05 DPi with Team Penske in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and won the team, manufacturer, and driver championships in 2019. The NSX GT3 Evo, available through HPD for North American customers, won multiple championships in 2019 in both the IMSA and SRO World Challenge series.
About Acura
Acura is a leading automotive nameplate that delivers Precision Crafted Performance – a commitment to expressive styling, high performance and innovative engineering, all built on a foundation of quality and reliability. The Acura lineup features five distinctive models – the ILX and TLX sport sedans, the RDX and MDX sport-utility vehicles and the next-generation, electrified NSX supercar. All Acura models sold in North America for the 2021 model year are made in the U.S., using domestic and globally sourced parts.
Additional media information including pricing, features & specifications and high-resolution photography is available at AcuraNews.com. Consumer information is available at Acura.com.
[Source: Acura]