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LoveFab headed back to Pikes Peak with NSX-based heathen [w/video]

LoveFab had a rough run at Pikes Peak 2012. During qualifying on Day Two, owner and professional driver Cody Loveland launched his car off of the course at nearly 60 miles per hour. Never ones to be dismayed by a few bruised ribs and some busted body panels, LoveFab is headed back to the hill climb for 2013, and this year, it's bringing Garrett along as a title sponsor.
Loveland's chariot of choice is officially dubbed "Turbo by Garrett/LoveFab Pikes Peak Enviate" and is loosely based on an Acura NSX. All of the stock Japanese components have been swapped for LoveFab-built pieces with the exception of the subframes and suspension.
With a dry-sump LS1 V8, chromoly-tube chassis and a full carbon fiber body, the car is about as wild as they come. With around 800 pound-feet of torque on hand and a curb weight of under 2,000 pounds, the machine should give the mountain a run for its money. The team is expected to begin testing Enviate beginning May 1. You can check out a quick interview with Loveland in the video below along with the full press release.

Acura NSX bodywork to be sheathed in zirconium e-coat, fewer paint layers

Automakers make halo cars to drum up excitement and show off what they can do, but there's more to it than that. Advanced platforms allow a company's engineers to experiment with all sorts of technologies. And in the case of the upcoming new Acura NSX, that includes new paint processes.
Speaking with Autoline in this video interview, Honda's North American Senior VP Jon Minto talked about an innovative zirconium e-coat which it's applying to the new NSX. Unlike some experimental paints developed for Formula One, however, this coating is not designed to minimize drag or enhance cooling: it's designed to be more environmentally friendly.
It's one of a few measures which Honda is implementing on the NSX before expanding it to more accessible models, along with another process that uses fewer coats to reduce energy consumption by 40 percent. Watch the interview with Autoline host John McElroy right here.

Acura TSX Sport Wagon on the way out?

With Acura widely expected to consolidate its TSX and TL sedans into one model line in the near future, the fate of the TSX Sport Wagon is unsurprisingly in doubt. The long-rumored one-for-two sedan replacement is said to be dubbed TLX, and will sit above the Honda Civic-derived ILX, a model that already encroaches on the TSX's pricing and size. According to Ward's Auto, Acura officials are refusing to confirm that today's TSX wagon - effectively a re-schnozzed European-market Accord estate - is facing extinction. Reading the tea leaves, however, things certainly don't look good - the European Accord itself is said to be on the bubble and may not be replaced.
The TSX Sport Wagon was brought to the US as a niche play for the 2011 model year, with Acura of Canada taking a pass on the bodystyle. Officials said at the time that it hoped to shift 4,000 units per annum, roughly a 10-percent sliver of US TSX sales. And while Acura doesn't normally break out the wagon in its sales reports, Autoblog was able to obtain the model's totals for the last two years: the company sold 3,210 Sport Wagons in 2011, improving to 4,234 units last year. The current 2013 model began trickling into showrooms in December, but some dealers are still looking to clear out remaining 2012 models at handsome discounts.