More icons are being reborn in Detroit – now’s the turn of the Honda NSX, resplendent in red just like the original was when it made its debut at the Chicago Auto Show over 25 years ago.
The second generation of Honda’s “everyday supercar” appears to have received relatively few changes from the prior concepts from Detroit 2012 and 2013, despite growing slightly larger on its way onto the production line. The front end has been subtly rejigged with a new front splitter, tweaked “jewel eye” headlights, reshaped bonnet air outlets and new vents aft of the front wheel arches.
Along the sides, the wing mirrors and the air intakes are now slightly larger, while the proportions have been shifted to be more cab-forward. Finishing off at the rear, there’s a reprofiled rear spoiler and centre-exit tailpipes. That’s about it. Oh, and more conventional Y-spoke aluminium alloy wheels measuring 19 inches at the front and 20 inches at the rear, as opposed to the odd turbine items of the second concept.
If the exterior is an exercise in faithfulness to the previous concepts, the interior has been completely revised, losing the high-set centre console, dominating large central display and lack of buttons. Despite this, Honda still claims the NSX features a cabin with an “uncompromising focus on the driver.”
Ahead of the driver sits a TFT LCD display that serves as a digital instrument cluster, changing the graphics and information displayed according to the driving mode selected on the Integrated Dynamics System. Honda has clearly spent a lot of effort in ensuring the new NSX retains the excellent forward visibility praised on the original, with thin, yet super strong A-pillars and a low-set dashboard.
Motivation comes from the Sport Hybrid Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) power unit, combining a mid-mounted twin-turbo V6 (fitted with dry sump lubrication for a lower centre of gravity) with three electric motors. One motor powers the rear wheels and assists in acceleration, braking, and gear shifts, while another two move the front wheels, providing dynamic torque vectoring.
Altogether, the system makes a combined output of over 550 hp, managed by a nine-speed dual-clutch transmission. The Integrated Dynamics System features five modes – Quiet enables electric-only propulsion at low speeds for short periods, and the car gets more responsive and capable as you go up to Sport, Sport+ and Track modes.
Peering under the skin, you’ll find a multi-material space frame comprising of aluminium and ultra-high-strength steel, bolted to a rigid carbon fibre floor. Cladding the whole structure are aluminium and sheet moulding composite (SMC) body panels. The lightweight construction, along with the optimised powertrain packaging, is claimed to give the NSX the lowest centre of gravity in its class.
The new NSX is sprung on all-around fully-independent aluminium suspension, connected to carbon-ceramic brakes. Handling is enhanced through the Agile Handling Assist (AHA) that applies braking to improve yaw response and dynamic stability.
Production of the new Honda NSX will be kept solely to the new Performance Manufacturing Centre (PMC) in Marysville, Ohio. The order books, closed earlier in 2014 due to high demand, are set to reopen in the summer, with the first cars set to be handed over near the end of the year. So, is this a worthy successor to the 1989 original?
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Great Sushi Sports Car
Not as great as my sports car.
its rear exhaust like the lamborghini
But then Ford GT has stolen its thunder…anyway the design is a bit of a let down…kind of anti climax…with typical Acura headlights that appear on every model…Honda Odyssey grille…Porsche 911 taillights and Audi R8 body…hmmmmm
how many cc? kerb weight?
Those were not mentioned in the press release; we should get the full specifications closer to the car’s on-sale date.
Given the high demand.. I wonder when Honda will start right-hand version of NSX and more importantly, when will it make its way to our shore???
This is one hell of a beast…
bring it here to Malaysia along with Civic Type R in near future
wish the interior could be the same as the concept, other than that, job well done honda! finally GT-R has a more current japanese competitor!
now, bring on the integra type-r!! and please, make manual transmission available for that new car, pleaseeeeee…….
Hybrid ckd to Malaysia. It will be a hot cake in this year.
When I saw that steering wheel my heart just dropped….
Also why Honda chose to go the hybrid route? I know it is 2015, but it could have made it a true to the original NSX with lightweight everything and good old screaming NA powering the rear wheels…
We should stop looking backwards. In this day and age of crash safety and emission requirements, light weight and old tech drivetrains will not allow a car maker to see their concept cars though production. If you like the old NSX, i’m sure you can source a used unit, recondition everything to the last bolt and nut, and still spend less than what the new NSX would cost.
I hope to see a faster stripped out type r edition, that’d be awesome.
It looks very sharp, and dare I say handsome. Althou it harks back to a design we’ve been teased since 2012, I still say it has evolved slightly better, and being legthen slightly seems to have imrove the proportion slightly, the headlights, less cluttered, looks sharper. It overall looks like a well design car. The interior, also has reminicent to the original NA1/2 with the wrap-around cockpit feel and the red on black theme of the original NA1 type-Rs. The gear selector (one of Acura’s gimmick) seems to be the only thing that I disliike here, I mean woould prefer one of those stubby Honda hybrid gear selectors with Honda signature type-R metal ball gear knobs, but overall, it looks like a snug, driver focus interior.
From different sources I’ve read, some say only the twin-turbo 3.5l V6(said to be an all new design) produce 550+hp, while some suggested that it is the totality of the hybrid SH-AWD that produced 550+hp. Honda(still)is making us wait for official numbers but 550hp is something Honda needs if they wants to keep their claim that they are targetting the Ferrari 458 for performance. Something I am really interested to see if they can accomplish because Ferrari’s signature is not just outright speed, is its engine responds, and sharp while natural handling makes iit almost surreal experience(not my words), something Honda WAS famous for during its hayday.
Now all that sweet talk is over, is it a worthy successor to the 1989 original? Personally, it wont even come close to the impact Honda gave to the people of 1989. Back than Ferrari was making wooden handling 348, most European car wasn’t all that good, when the original NSX came, suddenly, you have this econobox-making, sushi consuming,, Japanese making a supercar not only beat the Ferrari in outright performance, it’s even more usable, more refine, more reliable. It came with advances like all-aluminium construction and VTEC, it humiliated Ferrari and other european makers to the drawing board. Today the competition is different, the 458 is nothing short of a wonderful piece of automotive perfection, the 911 Turbo is exceptionally engineered down to the cupholders, Audi has a supercar thats not only fast, but like the original NA1, usable, reliable. The NSX here, is now made not by the Takumis in the land of the rising sun like the original, but burger consuming muricans from Ohio. It is an immensely impressive piece of automobile technology, but it wont come close the impact tthe original made when it was lanch.
That said, I cant wait for someone to put it throu its paces.
Agreed, the original legend was revolutionary and this seems like a ‘me too’ car, unless Honda is hiding something. at 550hp, it will have to take on the Godzilla first, never mind the rest of the world.
The issue was Honda did’nt bother to come out with the replacement of the original Honda NSX, only after 20+ years when it was first marketed.Since then, the Italians & the Germans has gained stronger foothold in the supercar technology or industry as a whole. Honda did’nt continously carry over that momentum that was first started with the original NSX (of course most car nuts knows, it was more advanced than most European supercars at the time).
Can’t wait to see this car battle against the best of Europe mid-range supercars, especially the reigning champion, the Ferrari 458 Speciale..
Jonathan Lee, you need to make correction to the header and article. I believe the 550hp is not the combined output, it’s the output for the V6 alone. Honda has not released the combined output figure.
The reveal video embedded in the post mentioned a total system output of over 550 hp.
About time…. but it seems the overall impression and reception to the reveal is.. bleak? there should be more to it, like the first reveal of the R35 GTR, given the legendary namesake of the NSX
Part of the reason I believe is the continuous teasing from honda since 2012, if this car is released last year I guess the result will be different. Then there’s the reveal of the Ford GT… on the same floor, which took some people by surprise compared to the NSX.
Anyway glad this car is finally off the drawing boards, now hoping it’s able to live up to the name and hype.
Love that photo from above with the power unit (petrol & electric) and gearbox (or is that gearboxes). Judging by how short/compact the engine is, could this be between 3.0 and 3.7 litres? Surely it can’t be a 4.0 (that would have allowed a V8 layout). There is also no mechanical connection between front and rear propulsion. Only an orange cable connects both sides.
Interestingly, there seems to be a lot of space in between the engine and the seats. So, there is potential for that engine to grow further in front in the future. This was one of the problems of the original NSX as its transverse layout (left to right) meant that the engine capacity was limited by the car’s width. No such problem for the new longitudinal NSX.
Other than the testers (which looked like it included Takuma Sato), when will anybody actually get to drive the car?
where to put front plate number later with design like this???
a bit r8’ish design, but seems practical and useable..with torque fill and that 3.0 v6 twin turbo its gonna be good. Not cheap though
I see…
I was under the impression that 550bhp is coming from the Twin turbo V6 alone…..
where’s the manual?
Under Honda or Acura?
That’s what u get when u ask the Americans to design a Japanese car. Yucks..
Oops.. Video is private?
It’s one of Hugh Jackman’s of Japanese supercar.
Will the 2015 Honda NSX be launched in Malaysia? At what price?