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2021 Acura TLX Type-S to be powered by 355-horsepower V6

The 2021 Acura TLX Type-S is on track to deliver 355 horsepower, Honda's luxury subsidiary said Thursday, floating the power figure in an announcement that a prototype of its new sport sedan will serve as the pace car for the 2020 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on August 30. The 3.0-liter V6 will also boast 354 pound-feet of torque, Acura said. These figures put it in the heart of the midsize performance sedan category, alongside the likes of the Cadillac CT5-V (360 horsepower) and Audi S4 (349 horsepower); BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti all offer more. The 2021 TLX sits on a new, stiffer platform and marks the return of a double-wishbone front suspension.  2021 Acura TLX to Make Racing Debut at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb "Racing is a key expression of Acura’s Precision Crafted Performance DNA. For the past nine years, Acura has utilized the grueling Pikes Peak hill climb as an opportunity to grow the skills of the companyÂ’s young engineers and as a test bed for future performance technologies in Acura production vehicles. The Acura Pikes Peak race team is comprised of a group of volunteer R&D engineers and is responsible for all aspects of the competition, including the development of vehicles, race prep, crew support and navigating race cars to the finish line," Acura's announcement said.  Acura will field two TLX race cars in the Exhibition class at Pikes Peak. Both will be powered by the base, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. Based on the company's announcement, it appears that one will be front-wheel drive and the other equipped with Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD), which is standard on the Type S. This engine makes 272 hp in street tune, but the race cars have received upgrades. The SH-AWD model boasts a larger turbocharger and intercooler for additional power, while the front-wheel-drive model received a milder tune and some suspension tweaks. A Time Attack NSX piloted by James Robinson will accompany the sedans. The Type-S will serve only as a pace vehicle, not a competitive entry.  Related Video:

Why Acura should build a hybrid Integra successor using NSX tech

Yes, it sounds like a heresy. Yes, the Honda CR-Z was not a good hybrid sports car. Yes, we know the RSX officially replaced the Integra here (but was called the Integra in Japan). But, no, we're not crazy. Well, maybe a little bit. But hear us out. At the moment Acura is a bit of an unfocused mess. Its line-up is thoroughly uninspiring, save for its $200,000 NSX supercar – a great mid-engined supercar with an impressive, performance-oriented hybrid AWD system. And yet few people would draw a line connecting Acura's other SH-AWD hybrids, the RLX Sport Hybrid and MDX Sport Hybrid, to the NSX. The first NSX told the world that Acura built cars with world-class technology and performance, and the Integra carried it to people with normal pocketbooks. Since the new NSX communicates a similar message as its forbearer, so too would a new Integra. Now making an entry-level sports car with hybrid technology is tricky business. As we already established, the Honda CR-Z was a colossal flop. It's balance was all off: heavy, expensive, and not very sporty – and it didn't even get very good fuel economy. However, Honda and Acura can learn from these mistakes. First, to keep costs in check, Acura can borrow from Honda's ever-improving parts bin. It would logical to borrow the excellent Civic coupe platform – something the old Integra did as well. It could also attach the proposed hybrid powertrain to the upcoming Si turbocharged four-cylinder. Some added cost will be unavoidable, since the batteries and motors will have to go somewhere. That will cost some engineering dollars, and inflate the price tag a bit. However, since Acura is a premium brand, it has some wiggle room to bump up the price without losing buyers. Weight is another potential issue this hypothetical hybrid will face, and was one of the chief complaints with the CR-Z. Looking at the RLX and the RLX Sport Hybrid, the hybrid bits weigh about an extra 340 pounds. That's not insignificant, but added to the turbocharged Civic EX-T coupe's 2,900 pound curb weight, you would have a car that would weigh 3,240 pounds. That's comparable to the very fun Mustang EcoBoost. As long as Acura keeps the weight under 3,500 pounds, the brand should have an entertaining coupe on its hands. The final piece of the puzzle is to make sure it isn't compromised. Every bit of hybrid tech in the NSX is there for performance. It helps eliminate turbo lag, and it improves acceleration and handling.

2017 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid goes on sale in April for $52,935

If you like the hybrid tech of the Acura NSX, but don't need a six-figure, 191-mph supercar as your daily driver, you might enjoy the extra room of the Acura MDX Sport Hybrid. It uses the same SH-AWD system with three electric motors as its racier stablemate – and puts a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter V6 up front – but seats up to seven people. It goes on sale in early April, and Acura has announced a starting MSRP of $52,935. The MDX Sport Hybrid starts at $7,910 higher than the base, front-wheel-drive MDX, but only $1,500 more than the comparably equipped, non-hybrid MDX SH-AWD. It offers 31 more ponies, for a total of 321 peak horsepower and of 289 pound-feet of torque. It's less expensive than the other Acura to use the Sport Hybrid system, the RLX sedan, which starts at $59,950. (That car incurs a price premium of $5,500 over its P-AWS-equipped FWD base model; there's no non-hybrid AWD RLX.) The MDX Sport Hybrid gets an EPA-rated 26 mpg city, 27 highway, and 27 combined. Compared to the conventional MDX SH-AWD's 18/26/21 mpg rating, its biggest fuel economy gains are to be found in city driving. The Sport Hybrid's figures are even slightly better than the 25/26/26 mpg Acura expected when the car debuted in New York last year. The MDX Sport Hybrid should be fairly entertaining to drive, too, at least for a utility vehicle. It's Acura's most powerful SUV to date, and it offers four driving modes: Comfort, Normal, Sport, and Sport+. A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission handles the gear changes, but the driver can take control via a pair of paddles on the back of the steering wheel. The SH-AWD system's torque vectoring feature promises to help make the MDX proficient in the twisty bits, too. Related Video: