Acura Wants To Conquer “America’s Mountain”
Every year, some of the biggest automakers and the most skilled drivers in the world compete in an event so iconic, it has a nickname: The Race to the Clouds. This year, Acura will be joining them at the 103rd running of The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 22, and it’ll be bringing the hottest Integra Type S yet along to play. Best of all, although Honda’s luxury arm will be fielding a modified racing version of the hot hatch, this endeavor will have real benefits to performance car enthusiasts and the cars and parts they can buy off the dealer floor. See, Acura said last year that its wild Integra Type S HRC Prototype was more than just a cool concept…
The Pikes Peak Entrant And Its Goal
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Entered in the Time Attack 1 (TA1) class, the Integra Type S DE5 racecar will be driven by IndyCar and IMSA racer Katherine Legge, who achieved a top-five finish in the same category in her rookie outing last year. She achieved a time of 10:51.359, which is not far behind the current front-wheel-drive record up the mountain of 10:48.094. That record was set in a 500-horsepower Acura TLX in 2018, but the automaker thinks it can do better with a lower center of gravity, despite less power. The modified 2.0-liter K20C8 turbocharged four-cylinder produces “in excess of 360 hp” in racing trim, all of which goes to the front wheels via a six-speed sequential transmission with paddle shifters. HRC USA also developed the suspension and brakes, while excess weight from soundproofing, underbody coatings, and seam seals is removed. A roll cage, aerodynamic upgrades, and cooling enhancements add some weight back.
HRC Performance Parts Coming To An Acura Dealer Near You (Someday)
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Acura vehicles have acted as pace cars for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for years, and 2025 is no different, with the Integra Type S HRC Prototype that was revealed at Monterey Car Week last year taking pride of place at this year’s event. Importantly, Acura has repeated its claim from last year: “Based on strong interest generated by the Acura Integra Type S HRC Prototype […], HRC announced that it will create a new business to produce authentic performance parts for customer use for street, track, and off-road applications.” The automaker has yet to announce which parts will be available and when, but we suspect that the response to outings of its HRC prototype will dictate the future direction of the brand and its performance products. So if you’re in Colorado for the Race to the Clouds later this month and want to see something like this at a dealer soon, tell somebody in HRC apparel that, and maybe it’ll happen…
