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Honda to compete in seven Pike's Peak classes in 2014

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is one of the greatest events on the international motorsports calendar. Its Unlimited class harkens back to the old days of racing, when teams built vehicles to be the fastest with whatever they had. Honda is returning to the event for 2014 for its second year as a sponsor and participant, and it's bringing some cool machines of its own.
The company is fielding seven entrants this year, which is somewhat smaller than last year. In 2013, it brought 11 factory-supported vehicles in 10 classes, including an insane Honda Odyssey with a 532-horsepower turbocharged V6 engine. There's no need to be too disappointed by the shorter list, though. Former 24 Hours of Le Mans-winner Romain Dumas is back piloting a Honda-powered Norma chassis up the hill in the Unlimited class. Dumas attempted to race the car last year, but it broke down during his run. Other competitors include an NSX (pictured above), Fit B-Spec and an S3700, which is an S2000 with a 3.7-liter V6 engine.
In its role as sponsor, Honda says it has also worked with the sanctioning body to add an AirFence safety barrier along some corners for the motorcycle and ATV riders. This year's Pikes Peak is being held on Sunday, June 29. Scroll down to read the full details about Honda's team and start getting excited for this year's running.

Acura NSX to be built in Ohio in 2015

Honda today confirmed that the forthcoming Acura NSX hybrid supercar will be built at a brand-new facility in Ohio. This will be the company's third plant in Ohio, and will come as the result of a $70 million investment. Honda first hinted that NSX production would be coming to Ohio when the original concept car was revealed at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show.
Honda's new facility, called the Performance Manufacturing Center, will encompass a 184,000-square foot space inside of the automaker's former North American Logistics building and will employ 100 associates. As you might expect, the Performance Manufacturing Center is located just a few miles from Honda's American-based R&D facility, as well as the Marysville auto plant, where production of the 2014 Accord Hybrid will kick off this fall.
"The location of this facility is in the midst of one of the greatest collections of engineering and production talent in the world. So it makes sense that we will renew the dream and build this high-tech, supercar in Marysville, Ohio," said Hidenobu Iwata, president and CEO of Honda of America, in a press release.

2014 Acura RLX gets trick hybrid all-wheel drive system for LA

Acura has endured a year of mixed reviews and middling sales for its new RLX flagship. Meanwhile, the Japanese automaker has been readying what may be the very best version of the car for its debut. Now the wait is almost over, as Acura will show its 2014 RLX Sport Hybrid SH-AWD at this year's LA Auto Show.
When it comes to dealerships in the spring of 2014, the RLX Hybrid will be the most powerful production car Acura has ever sold. The combination of a 3.5-liter V6 and three electric motors - a 35-kilowatt motor pushing torque to the front wheels and two 27-kW units feeding the rears - creates a total system output of 377 horsepower.
Those rear-end electric motors do more than just add power, they also drive the rear wheels without a traditional rear drive shaft and differential. This newest iteration of the Super Handling-All Wheel Drive calls upon the two rear motors to both drive and brake the rear wheels, vectoring torque in cornering situations for additional grip. All three electric motors make use of regenerative braking to feed electricity back into the system's 260-volt lithium-ion battery pack.