The Pikes Peak hill climb is arguably the most well-known hill climb in the world and brings out the biggest spenders. This past year, we saw Volkswagen shatter the overall record in a purpose-built all-electric race car, the I.D. R, and that record will probably stand until it’s broken again next year.

Acura didn’t pull any punches, either, and brought out an Acura TLX sedan with Peter Cunningham at the wheel, clinching an open class win as well as taking home the honor of having the fastest production-based car up the hill.

The Pikes Peak-prepped TLX’s 3.5-liter turbocharged V6 engine sends 500 hp through all four wheels. According to Acura, the team relied on parts from the TLX GT racing program to squeeze all that grunt out of the 3.5-liter V6. The parts list included new connecting rods, pistons camshafts and an entire valvetrain.

Of course, wrangling a high-horsepower front-wheel-drive car around a mountain isn’t exactly an easy task. Cunningham’s long racing pedigree and familiarity with Acura made him a good fit for the car. If you’re unfamiliar with Cunningham’s racing efforts, let’s get you up to speed.

He’s raced in World Challenge, IMSA Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championship, IMSA Endurance Championship, IMSA Exxon GT, IMSA American Le Mans, Grand-Am, CART, SCCA U.S. Road Racing, and Canadian Auto Sports Motorola Cup. His pro racing career started in 1986 in the IMSA Firestone Firehawk series, and over his career, he’s amassed 14 driver’s championships -- not bad.

Considering his racing prowess and his car’s pedigree, he has a solid chance of taking the top honors at this year’s Empire Hill Climb, but we won’t know until he crosses the finish line. You can see his competition here, or head up to Empire this Saturday to check it out in person.

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