For those of you who aren't familiar with the NSX, Honda Motor Co. is building a supercar with 3 electric motors and a twin-turbo V6. It's supposed to go on sale sometime next year under the Acura brand. The performance is said to be mindblowing and far above the BMW i8. While undergoing testing at the Nurburgring track in Germany, the advanced prototype caught on f*re and was destroyed. Fortunately, no one was injured. http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2014/07/2016-acura-nsx-burns-ground-nurburgring.html The cause of the incident is still under investigation. Hobbyists speculate that extreme heat from the turbochargers and/or a leaking fuel line could be the cause. My stomach lurches to see the engineering legacy of Soichiro Honda smoldering on the side of the track:crying:
Those darn, infernal internal combustion engines. Always catching on fire... At least the Model S completed a lap on the Ring.
The first car I bought on my own was the '88 CRX Si. It was a great car for the time (and the budget). I eventually also got an S2000. It saddens me to see this setback. One thing that concerns me is that this latest iteration of the NSX is neither designed nor produced in Japan. Hope they get back on schedule quickly!
Image source: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. If it hadn’t burnt to the ground, it would probably have a pretty decent exterior though. Too bad it’s not a pure BEV capable of supercharging… :crying:
This car excites me likely between the Porsche 918 and i8 for performance but closer to the i8 in price. And it will likely run circles around a MSP+ at the track.
This, among other things, is what test mules are designed to do: Identify problems in testing before it gets to market. What bugs me are all the comments on the net saying "lol it Tesla'd to the ground! lol" ugh.
I think I saw this story on Jalopnik and most of the comments were along the lines of "Just like a Ferrari / Lambo". Didn't see any Tesla comments, but didn't read much
As a lifelong Honda driver I was concerned too, but it seems that recently, Honda's Japan office has been occupied with mini and micro-cars (Fit-sized and smaller). There hasn't been much focus on the performance side of things in years. I'm hoping that the American office is able to get NSX to market on time. It would be cool if Honda made an all-electric NSX. They have an electric motor SH-AWD system already. The company seems to be focused on fuel cells rather than batteries though.
The wait is over! Honda reveals the production Acura NSX with triple electric motor! http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2016-acura-nsx-photos-and-info-news The good news is that it has electric motors on the front and rear axles, which power the "Sport Hybrid Super Handling All Wheel Drive". The bad news is that it still needs an ICE, in this case Honda's most ferocious twin-turbo V6 :frown:. Total system output is still secret, but Honda says "greater than 550 horsepower". Starting price tag of $150k. This car is hot, and has a hot paint color. BMW's i8 stands no chance.
Nooo!!! Do you have any idea how long Honda fans have waited for this car?! If people think waiting for Tesla cars is painful, there is no comparison to how Honda let things play out. Honda stopped building the original NSX in 2005. They announced a new generation NSX with a V10 engine, but Honda cancelled it in 2008 or so. It's been 6-7 years of rumors, concept photos, and uncertainty. Think how bad it would be here if Tesla revealed a concept Model S in 2008, and didn't ship until 2015.
As an Acura fan the NSX was my dream car back in the day. Now, it's meh, but after they dropped 4 cylinders (V10 to V6), I think if they dropped 6 more it'd be perfect!
I do hope the new NSX provides some sort of a halo for Acura and Honda. As a one-time Acura owner, it's disappointing and sad to see their current tepid lineup and sinking sales. Honda has also made the least bit of effort towards electrification.
Acura had so much potential up through the 90's and even in the early 2000's. I don't know what happened but everything seemed to fall apart for them in terms of styling and technology a few years ago. Honda actually has significant investment in electric motors and powertrain technology, but they've decided to go the Hydrogen fuel cell route :frown:
I owned an NSX followed by an NSX-T (wanted targa roof). Great cars that were comfortable, reliable and fun to drive. What saddens me is to see the reborn NSX have that hideous Acura grill styling the company seems so taken with. The original NSX is still one of the more beautiful cars on the road.
An interesting tidbit about the new NSX: BBC - Autos - GT350R, CTS-V - NSX? Three shades of US muscle
The new NSX looks terrific to me, although I am not a big fan of Acura's present design language. I owned (and absolutely loved) an S2000 years ago and it was pure fun. Great, great memories.
Whaaaat? These are both turbo ICE powertrains! More like small apple to HUGE apple. I joke, partially! I was tired of seeing Acura constantly beaten, so I had to gloat that the NSX would destroy the i8.