Honda (well, Acura) wants to reset the front-wheel-drive record up the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and it’s aiming to do it with this Integra Type S racer. Dubbed the ‘DE5’ and based on the HRC prototype, it uses an upgraded version of the same ‘K20C8’ turbocharged four-pot, now punching out a healthier 355hp.
The souped-up Integra also gets a six-speed sequential transmission, a stiffer suspension setup, and stonking great brakes. All in a bid to help this humble five-door hatch get up a really big mountain...really rather quickly.
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Beneath the bulged-up body, which gets extra hood ducts for cooling and a whole heap of gaping bumpers and skirts, excess weight has been freed up by removing some of the soundproofing and underbody coating. Intimidating rear wing back there, too.
The DE5 will be entered into the ‘Time Attack 1’ class, driven by IndyCar and IMSA pro Katherine Legge. Last year, she lost out on the FWD record by just three seconds, set back in 2018 by a modified Acura TLX. Given it was her first-ever attempt at The Race to the Clouds, optimism will be brewing strongly this time out...
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
