We have already known for the past few years that the second-generation Acura NSX is a venerable competitor in the exotic car segment, but we can now confirm that it’s an even more formidable competitor when it comes to racing. Acura recently announced that the NSX just broke a new record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and finished third in the highly competitive Time Attack 1 Class.

The Acura NSX beat the time by half a second

The 2019 Acura NSX was piloted by James Robinson, who established a new record for the production hybrid class. His old time, which was achieved in 2018, was 10:02.448 and his new time was 10:01.913, only about half a second faster. But as we know, when it comes to Time Attack, every fraction of a second counts.

In addition to the record-breaking NSX run, there were two race-prepped 2021 Acura TLXs on hand to compete in the 2020 “Race to the Clouds” event. Two engineers from Honda’s Ohio Research and Development Center, Jordan Guitar and Justin Lumbard, were behind the wheels of the two cars and placed fifth and sixth, respectively.

A third Acura TLX also made an appearance

Aside from the NSX and the two other race TLXs, Acura also brought along a third TLX to serve as the official Pikes Peak Pace Car. It wasn’t just any ordinary TLX model, in fact, it was a development prototype for the forthcoming Acura TLX Type S, which was piloted by Nick Robinson, a chief engineer for Acura’s Chassis Development Group.

While competing in these events and setting new records is important for the brand as a whole — not only to showcase its products but to remain competitive – it’s also important when it comes to testing them. According to Acura, “Pikes Peak serves as a testbed for new Acura performance technologies and as an opportunity for the company’s engineers to further sharpen their performance-focused driving and engineering skills.”

Acura makes race-bred products

In case you’re wondering, the Acura NSX that competed in the Time Attack 1 event is as close to the production model as possible. According to Autocar, the NSX does have some weight-saving and safety modifications done as well as a high-flow racing exhaust, however, it’s powered by the same drivetrain as the NSX you can find on the showroom floor.

The same goes for the two Acura TLXs that competed as well. They both featured the same 2.0 VTEC turbo engines that produce 272 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque that will be under the hoods of the base TLX models showing up at dealers soon. The TLX Type S pace car, on the other hand, was outfitted with the more powerful 3.0-liter V6 turbo that will produce 355 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque. We can expect to be able to get out hands on the TLX Type S variant by next year as specific release dates have yet to be announced.