Acura ZDX Type S first EV to pace Pikes Peak

Next month will see the 102nd running of Pikes Peak, officially known as – ahem – The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb brought to you by Gran Turismo. Organizers are going to need bigger business cards this year, apparently.

No matter its name, Pikes Peak is always a tremendous spectacle, evolving over the years as more and more of the circuit earned a skiff of pavement. This year, the 12.42-mile hill climb will be paced by an electric car, namely the Acura ZDX Type S, wheeled by a driver who competes in drifting events. Belting out almost 500 horsepower and 544 lb-ft of right now­ torque, its likely they will be able to hone their craft on the 156-turn course.

This is actually Acura's 10th year as the event’s official pace car, with the ZDX joining other luminaries such as the second-generation NSX first serving in 2015 and a prototype TLX Type S in 2020. There will be a brace of Integras competing this year, one driven by ace hotshoe Katherine Legge in the Time Attack 1 division and the other wheeled by Paul Hubers in the Pikes Peak Open division. Legge’s Type S DE5 , shown above, will be powered by a modified version of the factory 2.0L turbo whose wick is cranked to over 360 horses. The body shell is purpose built from a body-in-white which deletes all unneeded street vehicle components while adding bespoke suspension gubbins.

Pikes Peak takes place this year on June 23, featuring a riotous mix of vehicles from multiple motorsports disciplines racing against the clock as they take on a course which has 156 turns and climbs 4,725 feet to reach its 14,115-foot summit.

[Images: Acura]

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