Acura 4-Motor EV Concept to climb Pikes Peak

Two weeks ago, Acura revealed their NSX racers which will partake at this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Now, the automaker has revealed another entry for the 100^th running of the iconic race event.

Called the 4-Motor EV Concept, the racecar will compete in the Electric Modified Class and features an all-electric powertrain that’s mated to the company’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system.

It will be driven by Tetsuya Yamano, the same driver who joined last year’s race in a CR-Z based electric car prototype.

“We've been tuning the car for several weeks at Pikes and have advanced its performance significantly. We're honored to be running at Pikes in this historical, anniversary year – an event respected by racing fans all over the world,” said Tetsuya Yamano.

As mentioned earlier, it is solely powered by electricity courtesy of two Twin Motor Units (TMUs) on each axle. This allows each wheel to have independent torque distribution, as well as four-wheel torque vectoring according to the company.

Managing all that power is the SH-AWD system which sends the ideal amount of power to each wheel. Other than that, it also controls the input from the Electric Power Steering (EPS), Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) and the Sport Hybrid systems.

Exact output ratings of the all-electric concept were not revealed but Acura did say it will generate more have three times the system output of the standard NSX. Of note, the new NSX produces a total system output of 580 PS.

As for its design, the all-electric concept sports an aerodynamic bodykit. Up front, it features a sportier bumper and large canards. Along the side, it gets lightweight alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin tires, and large air intakes. Rounding it all up is are the large rear spoiler and big diffuser.

This year’s Race to The Clouds will take place from June 26 – June 28, 2016.