Honda->ke34 and Acura->ke10 weren’t racing in any official capacity at the 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, but watching this video->ke278 of the 2016 Acura NSX pace car charging up the treacherous mountain road, you’d be forgiven for assuming otherwise.

Honda public relations senior manager Sage Marie piloted the NSX and led the field of 140 entrants up the 156-turn, 12.4-mile course to over 14,000 feet above sea level. PR guys (and most automotive journalists despite what they tell you) usually aren’t known for their skills behind the wheel, but Sage is the exception to the rule. He’s won in Pirelli World Challenge B-Spec racing and previously competed at Pikes Peak->ke1001 in 2012 and 2014. He it knows well, because he certainly doesn’t leave much out on the course for this run.

Aside from its unique Pikes Peak pace car livery, this is a near-production-spec NSX, meaning it’s powered by a mid-mounted twin-turbo V-6 displacing 3.5 liters. The ICE is supplemented by three electric motors, two directly powering each of the front wheels and the third mounted between the engine and the nine-speed dual-clutch transmission.

No official numbers have been released, but we’re expecting the NSX to have well over 500 horsepower. The torque-vectoring front motors should also endow it with physics defying handling. Plus, with an estimated price of around $150,000, it should be a good $1 million cheaper than those fast hybrids->ke147 from Porsche,->ke1 Ferrari->ke252 and McLaren.->ke284 But, the question remains if it’ll be able to teach the exotics->ke177 a few new lessons like its predecessor did.

Until we find out, enjoy the Pikes Peak video and checkout our full review of the 2016 NSX.

Acura NSX Pace Car

You can check out the original news about the NSX Pace Car here.