Travis Okulski of Jalopnik tried out the Acura TLX Pirelli World Challenge car at GingerMan Raceway recently. Not only is it based on the Acura TLX street car, but it is a 4-door sedan racing against Porsche, McLaren, Mercedes, and more. The Acura’s greatest asset is 4 wheel drive, but also means that the weight distribution had to be altered to optimize the power available. To accomplish this, the engine, driver, and anything else they could manage, has been pushed towards the back of the car.
Okulski says “the work that Acura and RealTime have done on this car is rather amazing. The engine has a base in the LMP2 engine Honda uses, but also has parts from the stock 3.5 in the TLX. It’s mounted longitudinally, not transversely, and is pushed so far back that you don’t see it when the hood opens. It’s all-wheel drive, like the road car, and is the only AWD car in the field.”
Travis raves about the reactivity of the car, including the paddle shifting. Above all, he was impressed that it is the only car in the field that is four-door or four wheel drive. As if that wasn’t enough, the car still looks mostly like the TLX that you take the kids to soccer practice in.