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Acura NSX GT3 to make public debut this week at Mid-Ohio

The new Acura NSX had a very long and very public gestation period. The car went through a number of redesigns and revisions, all while enthusiasts watched and waited. With the production version just now ramping up for customer deliveries, Acura revealed that it was working on a race car for FIA GT3 homologation. While the car was shown in New York, no one outside of Honda has seen it testing on track. This week, the NSX GT3 will make its public testing debut at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course ahead of the Pirelli World Challenge and IndyCar races. View 13 Photos While the car will be on track during testing and practice sessions, it won't actually be competing with the rest of the field. The car is still in the testing phase and won't be fully FIA approved until at least September. Acura is confident that the car will make its racing debut in 2017. The company also made it clear that this is not the final version of the car and that things like aero and engine tuning are still being worked out. Until now, the NSX GT3 has only tested at private events in Europe, Japan and the US. This week, the NSX GT3 will be piloted by Dutch racing driver Peter Kox. Kox drives for RealTime Racing, a team that currently campaigns an Acura TLX GT. This week's car will be the primary tester, though if something goes sideways there are multiple backup cars. The NSX GT3 differs in a number of ways from the road car, most notably its lack of hybrid all-wheel drive system. The NSX GT3 uses the same twin-turbocharged V6 as the road car, but sends all the power through the rear wheels. It also uses the same space frame as the road car. While the road going version receives final assembly in Honda's Ohio factory, final touches to the GT3 car are done elsewhere. Although the car will only be testing on Thursday and Friday, it will be on display all weekend in the paddock. For more info on this weekend's Mid-Ohio race, check out the Pirelli World Challenge page here. Related Video: Motorsports Acura Honda honda nsx acura nsx gt3

Alonso wants an NSX, but did Honda block him from Le Mans?

One of the biggest changes in store for the 2015 Formula One World Championship will see Fernando Alonso moving back to McLaren. That means he'll be driving under Honda power for the first time, after spending the bulk of his career driving for Renault and Ferrari. And being Honda's new poster child, as the two-time World Champion is fast discovering, has its advantages and its drawbacks. According to the latest reports, Alonso had been negotiating a clause in his contract with McLaren that could have seen him driving a Porsche 919 Hybrid at Le Mans this year, but Honda reportedly stepped in at the last minute and scuttled the plan. The drive would have been Alonso's first in the famous 24-hour race, after having had the honor of waving the flag at La Sarthe last summer. In one of the wilder rumors that emerged during the prolonged silence over his move for this season, the Spaniard was also linked to a potential return for Ferrari to Le Mans. That prospect came to naught, and now the Porsche deal has been wheeled into the garage, as well. The upcoming F1 season is expected to be one of transition, adjustment and development for McLaren and Honda, but the Japanese automaker's involvement in his hiring may not be all bad news for Alonso. Following the reveal of the new Acura NSX, Alonso tweeted "You still don't know, but one day we will be together..." followed by a series of heart-eyed smiley-face emoticons and accompanies by images of Honda's new supercar. The implication is that the two-time World Champion is expecting to get his talented hands on an NSX of his own, and we can certainly see how Honda would appreciate the imagery of Fernando driving around in its flagship. Even if it doesn't, though, we're sure McLaren would be glad to hook him up with a company car of its own – though Lewis Hamilton encountered some trouble securing (a very specific) one for himself. Even discounting the front-running F1 machinery he's been tasked with piloting on track to an impressive 32 career wins, Alonso has had some lustworthy company cars at his disposal over the years. At Renault, he had a Megane RS to drive, and during his last stint at McLaren, he had an SLR 722. But since signing with Ferrari, he's been given the keys to FCA models as varied as a Ferrari FF, a special 599 GTO, a Maserati GranCabrio, a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT and an Abarth 695... and those are just the ones we know about.

2014 Honda Ridgeline keeps on truckin' with new special edition model

Like many smaller trucks, the Honda Ridgeline has been left to stagnate on the market for far too many years. With production of the current model reportedly winding down later next year before production of the next-gen model picks up in 2016, Honda is sending the 2014 Ridgeline out with some style courtesy of a new Special Edition trim level.
The new Ridgeline SE essentially adds cues from the Ridgeline Sport to the luxurious RTL trim level. The means features like black-trimmed 18-inch alloys and matching interior trim arrives as a no-cost option. This new model carries the same starting price as the RTL at $37,505 (*not including $830 for destination), and all other trim level pricing is carried over unchanged from the 2013 model year. The new SE model won't be available until November, and it is not pictured in the image galleries (all of which seem to be identical to previous model years).
Speaking of carryover products, Honda has also released pricing for the unchanged 2014 Pilot and 2014 Acura TL, which will continue to be priced from $29,670 and $36,030, respectively (Acura's destination charge is $890). Scroll down for press releases on the 2014 Ridgeline, Pilot and TL.