Acura And RealTime To Enter A Modified TLX At Pikes Peak

Sports Car Champion Peter Cunningham Will Drive The AWD Acura TLX In The Pikes Peak Open Class

Considering the class-winning success that Acura experienced with the new NSX at Pikes Peak in 2016, and the media frenzy that surrounded it, it makes sense that they will be returning in 2017. This time for with a highly modified TSX in the Open category. There are 64 cars entered in this year’s race, and the TLX will have to be quite a quick one to make a dent in the serious competition in their proposed class. Cunningham’s RealTime Racing team have already begun work on preparing the TLX for the job at hand. The race is only just over three months away, and they’ll need all the time they can get to get it right.

Pikes Peak is a seriously dangerous and seriously competitive racing event, featuring a 12.42 mile course that starts at just over 9000 feet of elevation and runs on up to about 14,000 feet at the ‘peak.’ The course was one time gravel, but has been fully paved since 2012, and the times have been dropping rapidly. With the frequent and severe temperature fluctuations of such high elevation, the pavement is constantly cracked and pockmarked, making the course all the more difficult to drive.

In a full-body sedan, Cunningham doesn’t have a shot at the overall victory. However, with some intense preparation, RealTime could make a car competitive within the Open Class. The class currently sees a Palatov D2 and a real-deal Trans Am Mustang on the entry list, so it’s hardly going to be an easy victory. There aren’t many details on how the car will be prepared, but the rule set is pretty open. We expect them to modify the drivetrain, suspension, and aerodynamics with quite a lot of deviation from stock. The car is undergoing surgery right now at RealTime’s workshop with design and engineering assistance from HPD.

If you want to look back at Acura’s 2016 Pikes Peak victory, check out this video below.

[Source: RealTime Racing]