McLaren Senna versus Acura TSX at Laguna Seca
Check out the speed differential between a Honda track car, and a purpose-built race car, like this McLaren Senna.
Ayrton Senna is a name familiar with any Honda fanatic. If you were asked to associate the late Formula 1 legend with a supercar, most of us would say the Honda/Acura NSX, which he had a hand in developing.
After all, many of Senna’s greatest successes in Formula 1 would come behind the wheel of Honda-powered racers. Those engines found a home in chassis built by racing and supercar giant McLaren. Senna’s McLaren MP4/4 is one of the most successful racing cars of all time, so it’s only natural that McLaren has a stake in that name, too.
That’s why we appreciate the new McLaren Senna so much. Built with the express goal of achieving faster lap times through the use of lightweight materials and cutting-edge aerodynamics, the Senna is limited to just 500 examples worldwide. So watching the one seen above make some serious pace around Laguna Seca is really cool.
It’s highly unlikely that you’d ever get a chance to see one in the wild, but that’s just what happened to racer Tony Jackson. On a recent track day excursion in his Acura TSX, he had the distinct pleasure of being passed by the machine bearing Senna’s name.
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In the six-minute video, we get to see Jackson’s grey, six-speed TSX cut some tasty lines around the legendary racetrack. Despite being passed by faster machinery (including a yellow Honda S2000), it’s clear that Jackson knows his way around the course. He even negotiates the infamous Corkscrew with little trouble to speak of.
The pass happens just as Jackson is crossing the start/finish line for the second lap, where a cluster of cars (with the McLaren bringing up the rear) passes him. Jackson playfully waves goodbye to the McLaren as it disappears into the horizon.
We’d like to think that, wherever he is, Ayrton Senna was smiling and waving, too.
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