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Acura spotlights NSX pace car at Pikes Peak

You can't just have any old street car setting the pace at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, can you? Of course not. For that task, you'd need a supercar with exceptionally high performance capabilities. Something like the new Acura NSX, for example. Fortunately that's just what the organizers of the annual Race to the Clouds selected to serve as official pace car this year. Honda's new hybrid supercar, set to be built in Ohio, donned a unique livery, a senior PR rep behind the wheel, and a smattering of GoPro cameras to speed up the 14,110-foot mountain. Naturally the twin-turbo V6 engine, nine-speed, dual-clutch transmission, and three-motor Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system formed an integral part of the package as well, even if its output hasn't been officially released more specifically than the "over 550 horsepower" we've been told to expect. The Japanese automaker also placed another couple dozen cameras along the 12.4-mile route and its 156 turns. Which is a good thing, considering that most of us weren't there in Colorado to see it make its run up the mountain, and nobody was there at each corner as it passed – except, of course, for the driver, Sage Marie. The rest of us will want to check out the minute-long clip Acura has released to see the NSX gun for the sky.

2017 Acura NSX production launches in April

After a decade of waiting and a few false starts, the new Acura NSX will finally start rolling out of its Marysville, OH, factory in late April. Customer deliveries won't be too far behind. We can't wait to hear whether buyers find the supercar as fast and comfortable as we did during the First Drive. Trial production is already underway at the NSX's bespoke factory called the Performance Manufacturing Center. The plant is specifically for production of low-volume vehicles with cutting-edge tech. The site employs 100 people to construct, paint, and check the quality of the new supercar, and they need 14 hours to build each one. Robots take care of some of the more intricate tasks like MIG welding the space frame. View 6 Photos It also takes workers six hours to build each NSX's 3.5-liter V6 by hand at the nearby engine plant in Anna, OH. They machine balance every one and run the powerplant through a 150-mile break-in procedure. While the supercar isn't at dealers yet, you can already build your own 2017 NSX online. Prices start at $157,800 (after $1,800 for destination), but the first examples only come with carbon-ceramic brakes, which add at least $9,900 to the price. When Autoblog editors optioned them out, the cheapest we managed was $172,700. Related Video: ACURA ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR START OF SERIAL PRODUCTION OF THE 2017 ACURA NSX Performance Manufacturing Center is exclusive global production home for Acura NSX with serial production to begin late April World-class facility boasts quality, craftsmanship and technological innovation Mar 17, 2016 - MARYSVILLE, Ohio -- Acura today announced that the all-new Performance Manufacturing Center will begin serial production of the next-generation Acura NSX supercar in late April, with customer deliveries to commence thereafter. The new Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) is the exclusive global manufacturing facility for the all-new Acura NSX supercar and is structured around an innovative blend of people and technology. Combining human craftsmanship and technological innovation, the PMC utilizes new approaches to vehicle construction, paint, assembly and quality confirmation to deliver on the Acura brand DNA of Precision Crafted Performance.

Snapshots from Acura NSX prototype run at Mid-Ohio

Acura's achingly slow showing of the new, hybrid NSX saw yet another step yesterday, as we reported late last week. A powder-blue prototype ran ahead of the open-wheelers at the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Why show the NSX Prototype at Mid-Ohio? Honda's Ohio research and development center, which has taken the lead on NSX development, is just 60 miles from the track. And as race sponsor, Honda must have figured it would give the spectators a glimpse of the new supercar it's been teasing for the better part of a decade.
With a planned launch in 2015 (special emphasis on the "planned" part, considering the NSX's history), the NSX Prototype shown here sports graphics that "speak to Acura's intention to go racing with the new NSX." That's great news for fans of endurance racing, although it remains to be seen when a motorsports program for the new NSX will get off the ground.
Take a look at the fresh gallery of images, and be sure to head over to our original Mid-Ohio post for the video footage of the NSX Prototype on track.