While the gestation period for Acura’s second-generation NSX took a decade, the company is wasting no time with its FIA GT3-spec racing version. Officially announced last week, Acura’s NSX GT3 follows on the heels of a near-production NSX winning its North American racing debut at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The NSX GT3 will campaign in North America in 2017.

The new NSX GT3 is not only missing the paint of the street version, but its body is bare carbon for weight reduction. The hybrid system is gone too, so all the power from the twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 engine is sent solely to the rear wheels, through a six-speed sequential racing gearbox instead of the road car’s nine-speed one. Body modifications include a large rear wing, underbody diffuser, and larger hood vents for engine cooling. Impressively, the GT3 will use the same block, heads, valvetrain, crankshaft, pistons, and dry sump lubrication system as the production version.

Honda engineers in Japan, and North America joined forces in the race car’s development, with testing in Europe and Japan. The GT3 and engine will be assembled in Ohio alongside the road car version, with final homologation details will be completed by the Honda Performance Division in Santa Clarita, CA this fall.