So for fun, we took the souped-up sedan to our Motown Mile to see just how good it really is.

The Pirelli World Challenge is a sprint series—standing-start races with no pit stops. Competitors in six classes bash around courses like Mid-Ohio and the Long Beach Grand Prix circuit. It's designed to produce the kind of chaos you love to see in racing, with combatants in steroid-laden street cars. The GT class is the fastest of the field and includes machines like the Ferrari 458, Mercedes SLS, and Porsche 911. Oh, and this Acura TLX-GT.
 

Don't laugh. Wisconsinite Peter Cunningham has won 77 races in Hondas and Acuras of almost every ilk, so we asked him to bring his newest ride out to play on our private airport course, the Motown Mile. The car's a 600-hp weapon modified beyond recognition beneath the family sedan's familiar skin.

Don't laugh. Wisconsinite Peter Cunningham has won 77 races in Hondas and Acuras of almost every ilk, so we asked him to bring his newest ride out to play on our private airport course, the Motown Mile. The car's a 600-hp weapon modified beyond recognition beneath the family sedan's familiar skin.

The number of parts this TLX-GT shares with its streetgoing kin can be counted on one hand—a few badges, the engine block and heads, the unibody passenger cell, and not much else. Pop the hood and all you see is a tangle of silver pipes and radiators diving back toward the firewall. That's where the turbo V-6 lives, tucked so far back, it's hidden beneath the windshield.
 
The number of parts this TLX-GT shares with its streetgoing kin can be counted on one hand—a few badges, the engine block and heads, the unibody passenger cell, and not much else. Pop the hood and all you see is a tangle of silver pipes and radiators diving back toward the firewall. That's where the turbo V-6 lives, tucked so far back, it's hidden beneath the windshield.
 
The World Challenge TLX-GT is race-car madness, a rolling sculpture of speed engineering. Gotta love it. To see just how far it's removed from its roadgoing counterpart, we paired it against a stock TLX at the Mile.
 
The World Challenge TLX-GT is race-car madness, a rolling sculpture of speed engineering. Gotta love it. To see just how far it's removed from its roadgoing counterpart, we paired it against a stock TLX at the Mile.
 

 

The Details

Engineers at Honda's California race shop spun the engine 90 degrees.
 
Engineers at Honda's California race shop spun the engine 90 degrees.
 
The engine's location moves everything rearward, including the driver's seat. It's almost a foot farther back than in the street car, and the seat cushion feels like it's on the floor. Don't expect to be able to see over the dash, let alone the fenders.
 
The engine's location moves everything rearward, including the driver's seat. It's almost a foot farther back than in the street car, and the seat cushion feels like it's on the floor. Don't expect to be able to see over the dash, let alone the fenders.
 
A pair of turbos and beefier internals help dish out "around 600" hp, but the all-wheel-drive system is what gives the TLX an edge. The 2015 rules allowed Acura to put power to all four corners because the configuration is available from the factory—not that the TLX-GT's AWD hardware is like anything on the lot at your local Acura dealership.
 
A pair of turbos and beefier internals help dish out "around 600" hp, but the all-wheel-drive system is what gives the TLX an edge. The 2015 rules allowed Acura to put power to all four corners because the configuration is available from the factory—not that the TLX-GT's AWD hardware is like anything on the lot at your local Acura dealership.
 
Xtrac adapted an off-road-racing, paddle-shifted transmission and center differential for the Acura. Price? Roughly three times that of a base TLX, or $110,000.
 
Xtrac adapted an off-road-racing, paddle-shifted transmission and center differential for the Acura. Price? Roughly three times that of a base TLX, or $110,000.
 

The Motown Mile Challenge: race TLX vs. road TLX

With more then double the horsepower, some 700 pounds less weight, and stickier tires, take a guess where the Acura TLX-GT shines against the street car. Here's a hint: everywhere.
 
 
 
SOURCE: ROAD & TRACK: Car Culture | PHOTOS: Alex Wong
 
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