MotorTrend Looks at the 2015 Acura NSX

From the April, 2012 issue of Motor Trend
By Frank Markus
Photos Wesley Allison
Acura's 1991 NSX put an end to the era when sexy supercars could be unreliable, ill-handling, ergonomic disasters. The all-aluminum mid-engine marvel delivered laser-sharp handling and high-revving acceleration suffused with Japanese quality, while advancing the state of the production-car art with firsts like four-channel ABS, titanium con-rods, and electric power steering.

Since NSX production ended in 2005, the world has eagerly awaited its replacement. A front-engine V-10 layout was proposed and developed by Acura Design as the Advanced Sports Car Concept. Everyone involved agreed that it was cool, but it wasn't an NSX. The car you see here is.

Expected by 2015, the new NSX will employ a mid-mounted V-6, complete with titanium connecting rods coupled to a wet twin-clutch seven-speed transmission and hybridized with an electric motor driving the rear wheels. Two more electric motors will spin the front wheels, providing torque-vectoring under acceleration and braking to help the NSX turn into corners better under all conditions. This Sports Hybrid AWD system is purported to deliver big-V-8 performance with "better-than-four-cylinder" fuel economy (let's assume they're talking big turbo fours there).

We asked Honda's global CEO Takanabu Ito (who started his career as an engineer working on the NSX's aluminum monocoque structure) whether he felt it was important that the next NSX still be made of aluminum. He replied what was more important was that the engineering team face as great a challenge as his did as they work to offset the new car's hybrid drivetrain mass. When asked whether he'd established a weight-to-power target for the team, his coy answer was, "I hope it is better than the first car's."

But if we assume that here again he expects to challenge his engineers to an equal extent, and we know that the first NSX matched Ferrari's 348 with 11 lb/horsepower, we can expect the 2015 car to at least match the current 458 Italia (and Lamborghini Gallardo) with around 6 lb/hp.

The sexy, show-stopping shape features Acura's softening Keen Edge design. Dimensionally, it measures 3.7 inches shorter in length on a 1.8-inch longer wheelbase, so overhangs are cropped. It's also 3.3 inches wider and 0.4 inch lower than the 2005 NSX. The concept rides on 255/35-19 front and 275/30-20 rear rubber. The low-profile headlamps are LED-based, and while there is no interior in the concept, design chief Jon Ikedo presumes the battery will package in the center tunnel, luggage compartments will be fitted fore and aft, and the fuel tank will slot in just ahead of the engine as before to preserve weight distribution as the fuel level drops. With production slated for "within three years," the shape has yet to undergo extensive computer or physical testing. Ikedo says early scale-model clays are performing well in the wind tunnel, but cautions that crash development is likely to grow the car somewhat. That development work, by the way, is all happening in the USA, and the car will be built in Ohio.

Acura claims the next NSX will represent the "ultimate expression of man-machine synergy," with driver and car working in unison, rather than the driver being taken for a ride by a highly robotized car.

Indeed a three-motor, mid-engine supercar sounds like the ideal halo car for a brand attempting to distinguish itself as delivering luxury and performance without waste or excess. It may even shake up the supercar-world order again. We just hope Ito's engineers overcome their biggest challenge: programming those electronics to deliver realistic, not robotic, road feel.

New Tech

The NSX won't be first with a hybridized twin-clutch tranny, but, unlike the Jetta Hybrid's, its electric motor connects to (we're guessing the odd) gear shaft instead of the input shaft. By releasing both clutches, more energy can be regenerated with no engine braking effect, and by connecting the motor to the (odd or even) gear with the most advantageous ratio. Under acceleration, power is transmitted through a preselected odd gear even when an even gear is in use.

2015 ACURA NSX
BASE PRICE $130,000*
VEHICLE LAYOUT Mid-engine, AWD, 2-pass, 2-door coupe
ENGINE 3.7L DOHC 24-valve V-6 + 2 front and 1 rear electric motors; 480 hp comb*
TRANSMISSION 7-speed twin-cl auto
CURB WEIGHT 3100 lb*
WHEELBASE 101.4 in
LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT 170.5 x 74.6 x 45.7 in
0-60 MPH 3.0 sec*
EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECON Not yet rated
ON SALE IN U.S. 2015

Source;

http://www.motortrend.com/future/future_vehicles/1204_2015_acura_nsx/

1991 Acura NSX: Suspension Walkaround

Here's a great artical on a truely legendary car....
by Dan Edmunds

At long last the 1991 Acura NSX suspension walkaround you've been clamoring for is finally here. Turns out there's lots of cool stuff to see under there, even if this car is old enough to drink and play blackjack.

Let's not waste any more time with preliminaries. The NSX is racked on our 2-post Rotary lift and fully exposed.

Here's the full article;
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2012/02/1991-acura-nsx-suspension-walkaround.html

Acura NSX Successor Taking Shape

Ahead-of-Its-Time Honda Dualnote Concept Provides Powertrain Clues
By Peter Lyon of www.motortrend.com

At Honda's recent shareholders' meeting in Tokyo, a middle-aged man stood up during the Q&A session and asked whether the company was going to reinterpret a small, sporty car like the Beat for the 21st century. "While I am still young enough to enjoy sports driving, I'd like to drive something compact and sporty, something like an updated Beat. What are the chances of that?" he said poignantly.

Honda CEO Takanobu Ito took the microphone and replied without hesitation. "We are currently developing a successor to the Beat, a car that anyone can easily have fun with. Expect to see it in showrooms within the next few years." The comment dominated the headlines the next day. Strangely, Ito's subsequent utterance didn't get nearly as much play, but potentially was much more significant to those pining away for a road-going Honda supercar: "In addition to the Beat successor, we are also making significant progress with plans for an exotic sports car."

Just six months ago, Ito told a media gathering that Honda felt compelled to re-launch a high-performance sports car like the NSX, but he didn't go so far as to say it was definitely happening. But it was the first time Ito had actually uttered the telling phrase "making significant progress with plans to..." build a successor.

To get a clearer idea of exactly what Honda has planned, a source close to Honda suggested we go back a decade and re-examine the Dualnote, a gasoline-hybrid, all-wheel-drive concept car first shown way back at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show. Powered by a midship-mounted (Japanese-speak for mid-engined) 3.5-liter V-6 with Honda's IMA hybrid system, the four-door concept's front wheels were propelled by in-wheel electric motors, while the rears were driven by the engine, a combination that reportedly generated more than 400 horsepower. The Dualnote was so advanced back then that all Honda did was adapt the drive system (minus the in-wheel electric motors) to the soon-to-be-launched Legend, thus creating the SH-AWD system.

Ten years down the track, Honda is still perfecting that original AWD hardware, which includes the large-capacity engine with hybrid combination, motors that propel the fronts, and V-6-driven rears. Another insider tells us the car's target specifications have already been decided. "Honda wants to build a supercar that breaks the mold while creating a totally new technological package," he said. So what we are going to see is a further development of that 2001 concept, but adapted for today's fuel economy and emissions expectations.

It's not a car that rests on its engine-generated power alone. The extra herbs produced by the front-mounted electric motors will make the next-generation NSX a very quick car. "It has to be fast to live up to the expectations of a future NSX, right!?" pleads our insider. He went onto say that a record Nurburgring lap time is not Honda's target. "But be rest assured, this car will be the top in its class, and the powerful engine-motor combination will achieve that result."

Our sources inform us that Honda is working on a VTEC V-6 engine displacing 3.5 to 3.7 liters that boasts a cylinder head with an integrated exhaust manifold and valveless throttle. Obviously it will be of the Atkinson cycle variety. The two-motor setup will be powered by lithium-ion batteries and employ a plug-in recharge system to minimize battery weight.

The original Dualnote system incorporated an engine that drove an on-board generator powering the motors, a system considered inherently inefficient. By fitting an all-new continuous current motor to the new concept, engineers have been able to minimize electricity consumption while at the same time creating a gutsy torque-generating, high-revving system. "This system will be the secret to the NSX successor's incredible pace," suggests our source.

One other critical aspect of the new car will be its weight-saving aluminum body, a process carried over from the first NSX. And the final part of the package is price. Our sources tell us that Honda wants to bring the car to the U.S. as an Acura by 2014 for under $100,000 -- a sticker price designed to rival that of the Nissan GT-R.

Source;
http://www.motortrend.com/future/future_vehicles/1110_acura_nsx_successor_taking_shape/

Remembering the curio classics: the 1989 Honda NSX

What a car.... By Ben Whitworth 28 March 2011 12:15 I spotted the NSX heading London-bound up the A3 early on Saturday morning, on the way to attend my best mate’s stag do. It was pristine, its cherry red paintwork and unscarred five-spoke silver alloys glinting in the sunlight. Low, sleek and barrelling along at a very decent pace, it looked utterly gorgeous. I was instantly struck at just how fresh and modern it looked. For a car launched in 1989, the Honda NSX is still contemporary, clean and head-turningly handsome, pop-up headlamps and all. Honda NSX: still contemporary today Even today, the elements to the car’s development sound fantastic. The perfect distillation of its engineering prowess, it was developed as Honda basked in F1 success. Its mid-engined cab-forward styling was inspired by an F16 fighter jet. Ayrton Senna, Satoru Nakajima and Bobby Rahal honed its dynamics. It was the world’s first car to go into production with a all-aluminium monocoque chassis complete with a sophisticated extruded aluminium bodywork. The NSX's wailing 2977cc V6 V-TEC engine was fitted with titanium conrods – another world first – and it revved to 8000rpm. The suspension was fashioned entirely from forged aluminium. It had telepathic electric power steering. It was hand assembled by a hand-picked crew of just 200 engineers. It weighed just 1350kg. And, of course, the Honda NSX was a gem to drive. The NSX – a supercar ahead of the game The Honda was defined by its brilliant chassis balance and superb agility, qualities that showed its contemporary rivals like Ferrari 328 GTB and Porsche 911 the dynamic back door. Visibility was panoramic, the spacious cabin was an ergonomic delight and reliability was exceptional. But despite this deep-seated talent, the NSX never really took off. It was, perversely, not seen as exotic enough for a blue-blooded supercar. It was criticised as being mundane simply because it was easy to see out of, didn’t break down, didn’t try and spit you into the nearest ditch at every opportunity and had a straightforward cabin design. Our loss, really. I gave the driver a thumbs up as he peeled off the carriageway and he grinned, dropped a cog and nailed it up the exit ramp. The lucky bugger. I spent the rest of my trip up to London trying to figure out where on earth I could find the £40k for a low-mileage 1997 3.2-litre with a six-speed manual. Source (with better pics); http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Ben-Whitworth/Remembering-the-curio-classics-the-1989-Honda-NSX/

Honda’s Ito Defends Efficiency Lead as Hyundai Gains

By Makiko Kitamura and Alan Ohnsman
June 23 (Bloomberg) -- Takanobu Ito became a star at Honda Motor Co. with his work on the NSX sports car, the company’s most powerful model. Now, as chief executive officer, he’s focusing on fuel efficiency as Ford Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. threaten Honda’s leading position in North America.

While Honda’s fleet is rated the most fuel-efficient in the U.S., Ford’s Fiesta subcompact gets up to 33 miles per gallon in combined city/highway driving, compared with 31 mpg for Honda’s rival Fit hatchback. Hyundai’s Sonata sedan tops Honda’s top- selling Accord in economy and horsepower, and its revamped Elantra compact promises to use less fuel than Honda’s Civic.

“Ford is coming back, and Hyundai is gaining market share,” said Tadashi Usui, an analyst at Moody’s K.K. in Tokyo. “The gap between Japanese automakers and rivals is shrinking.”

Honda, after axing its V-10 NSX supercar project in 2008, is redoubling efforts to boost fuel efficiency to fend off growing competition. Ito delayed the release of a revamped Civic compact after telling engineers he was unhappy with its size and fuel economy, said Tomohiko Kawanabe, president of Honda’s research and development unit.

Even as factors including pricing and design shape research efforts, “fuel efficiency has become the first priority in our discussions,” Kawanabe said in an interview at Honda’s research center last month in Wako, west of Tokyo.

Risking Reputation
Honda’s U.S. sales gained 13 percent in the first five months of 2010, trailing industry growth of 17 percent. Ford’s rose 31 percent in the same period, while Hyundai’s sales grew 23 percent.

Japan’s second-largest carmaker has focused on only mild improvements in fuel economy recently, risking its “green” reputation, said Ed Kim, an industry analyst at AutoPacific Inc. in Tustin, California. For example, Honda uses 5-speed automatic transmissions as the industry adopted more efficient 6-speeds, and seems reluctant to use direct-injection and turbocharging technology, Kim said.

“Even before the green thing was big, they were into green,” said Kim, a former Hyundai product planner. “Over the last few years, they’ve been completely leapfrogged in new engine technologies.”

Honda’s U.S. fleet of Honda and Acura 2009 models averaged 23.6 mpg in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s fuel efficiency assessment, adjusted for real-world driving.

Hyundai- Kia group vehicles were second in the 2009 model-year survey, averaging 23.4 mpg.

Hyundai models alone, excluding those of Kia Motors Corp., exceeded Honda’s fleet with an adjusted average of 23.9 mpg, according to EPA.

Depositary Shares
Toyota Motor Corp. had an adjusted fleet average of 23.2 mpg, and Ford, with a 20.5 mpg fleet, ranked seventh.

Honda’s American depositary receipts, each representing one ordinary share, fell 9 cents to $29.90 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, have dropped 12 percent this year. The shares fell 1.5 percent to close at 2,720 yen in Tokyo.

Another motivation for Honda to raise vehicle efficiency is a U.S. regulation forcing an industrywide increase by model year 2016. Honda’s fleet must average 37.4 mpg by that time, a 50 percent improvement from about 26 mpg now, John Mendel, head of Honda’s U.S. sales operation, said June 8.

The global recession following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September 2008 also spurred Honda’s strategic shift, said Ito, who became CEO a year ago.

“In a certain sense, Lehman was a blessing,” Ito said in Tokyo last month
.
Unlike before the recession, price increases are tough to justify and vehicle size and fuel economy need to “conform to these times,” Kawanabe said.

Prius Competition
Expanding Honda’s line of hybrid cars is part of the strategy. Honda plans to introduce a new hybrid Civic with a lithium-ion battery that can store twice the power of a nickel- metal hydride battery, Kawanabe said. The company will unveil a new hybrid version of the Fit later this year.

Honda’s Insight and Civic hybrids haven’t gained ground on Toyota’s Prius, the world’s top-selling hybrid. The Prius outsold the Insight 6-to-1 in the U.S. this year through May.

One reason may be fuel economy. Toyota’s hybrid gets 51 mpg in city driving, while the Insight gets 40 mpg. Honda Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo also said the Insight, a compact model in the U.S. compared with the midsize Prius, may be too small for Americans.

The company is also exploring stop-start technology, turbochargers and expanding continuously variable transmissions to boost fuel efficiency, said Hiroshi Ataka, a Tokyo-based analyst at consulting company IHS Global Insight.

Favoring Hydrogen Power
While Honda is researching electric cars, it’s less optimistic about demand for them than Nissan is and favors hydrogen-powered cars as the ultimate zero-emission vehicle.

Honda set up a lithium-ion battery venture with GS Yuasa Corp. and can shift gears quickly if necessary, Ataka said.

The company stopped producing the NSX supercar, its fastest production model, in 2005. It planned to reintroduce it this year. Instead, it built the low-priced, sporty CR-Z hybrid that arrives in the U.S. in August.

As a young engineer Ito consulted bullet-train designers to develop an all-aluminum body for the first-generation NSX when superiors considered the notion impossible, according to a company publication.

“I love sports cars,” Ito said at the Beijing Motor Show in April. “But we have to watch the economic situation and our purse strings.”

Source;
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-23/honda-s-ito-defends-efficiency-lead-as-hyundai-gains.html

Honda/Acura NSX Supercar Could Still be Revived - 2011 Debut Rumoured

Here we go again....
The Honda/Acura NSX could be revived as early as 2011, according to AutoBild. In an unsourced report, the German magazine says that a road-ready version of the HSV-010 GT racecar is being developed to fight the Lexus LFA.

A new version of the supercar was officially cancelled by Honda during the peak of the economic crisis. At that time, the company announced that they would be eliminating many of their niche market models in favor of vehicles that are broadly accepted worldwide, and can be produced in large volumes.

The magazine says that the production NSX would come with a 5.0-liter V8 engine. The production version would likely be both narrower and less defined than the race model, and be sold without a rear spoiler.

The Honda HSV-010 GT uses a 3.4-liter V8 engine generating 493 horsepower (500PS, 368 kW). The race car got its debut earlier this month at Japan's Suzuka Circuit, where two of them crashed out .

Source;
http://www.worldcarfans.com/110033025407/hondaacura-nsx-supercar-could-still-be-revived---2011

New Honda NSX race car

A newly-built Honda NSX race car will compete in this weekend’s Britcar race at Brands Hatch.
The unique NSX has been built to comply with the Britcar Production regulations and it successfully completed its shakedown at Snetterton last week.

See the hi-res pics of the new Honda NSX race car

The car has been prepared by Colchester-based John Danby Racing and it will be driven in the two races on 7 November, one of which is at night, by Vicki Butler-Henderson, James Barclay and David Fenn.

John Danby, team principal, said: “The uniqueness and advanced technology involved in this project presented several new challenges and we are pleased to debut this exciting car at the last event of the 2009 season.”

Features over the standard car include upgraded brakes, dampers and tyres, while engine control and data-logging capabilities including GPS, Fly by Wire and live feed video also feature.
Last week, Honda announced it was axing its iconic NSX from the Japanese Super GT championship after 13 years of competing.

Honda NSX racer axed

During its time racing in the series - Japan's top class for GT cars - the NSX-GT has won the driver and team championships, in 2000 and 2007. The car has also sat on pole 49 times and won 36 races.

Source;
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/Honda-NSX/244522/

James Bond's New Submarine: The Acura NSX

Any cinephile petrolhead worth his salt will tell you underwater motoring requires the possession of a Lotus Esprit. But in the real world? As you see above, and in the epic video below, choose the Acura NSX.
The Esprit’s status in underwater history was cemented in the wonderful chase scene from The Spy Who Loved Me, where Roger Moore drives his Lotus into the water where it promptly turns into a submarine:

Here's the link to the video;
http://jalopnik.com/5344319/james-bonds-new-submarine-the-acura-nsx

Acura: Old NSX Was “Too High a Halo,” Next Sports Car to Be Less Ambitious

The on-again, off-again next-generation Acura NSX sports car is pretty much off for good, at least as we have come to expect it. The low-slung, mid-engined, quasi-exotic sports car that Acura built all through the ‘90s and into a good part of the this millennium was expected to become a front-engine GT with extreme styling in its next iteration, but alas, due to many factors, the car has been shelved.

But according to John Watts, Acura’s senior manager of product development, the prospect of an Acura sports car is not dead. It has just been scaled down. The NSX was “too high a halo,” said Watts. “For it to be fully effective [as a halo vehicle for the brand], it couldn’t be too far removed” from Acura’s other products. In other words, it would be less expensive than the NSX—which was expected to have an MSRP approaching six figures—and probably derived from a current product platform. That’s bad news for those who got attached to the concept of a Honda-built exotic sports car, good news for Nissan, whose GT-R won’t be facing a Honda-built rival any time soon. We are intrigued, however, by what kind of sports car Honda can build in the $50K–$60K range.

Source;

http://blog.caranddriver.com/acura-old-nsx-was-too-high-a-halo-next-sports-car-to-be-less-ambitious/

Some more Pic's of the Mugen NSX RR Concept

Source;
http://www.nihoncar.com/en/news-1039-Mugen+NSX+RR+Concept%E2%80%A6+The+Ultimate+Gallery.html

Sport Compact Car; 2005 Honda NSX Type-R - The Ultimate Honda?

Picking Apart Spoon Sports' 420bHP NSX Type-R GT
By Jay Chen
Photography by Steve Demmitt

The noise begins as a slight echo, cutting through the quiet silence of the still air. It soon crescendos into the distinctly hollow wail of an NSX exhaust note and Spoon Sports' white rocket suddenly appears over a nearby hill. The mid-engine Honda rides the curb, on the edge of adhesion, and devours the short straight ahead. By the time it's disappeared from view, the tingles have barely left my spine. I'm standing on the outside of Turn 2 at Infineon Raceway and in front of me is one of the greatest things that one could ever wish for - an empty racetrack.

As you may have noticed, this is no normal turbocharged NSX. For this test we've dispensed with the pedestrian and instead have lined up what can only be described as a Honda nerd's Internet bench racing fantasy. Yes, we've signed up the ultimate enigma, otherwise known as the Spoon Sports NSX Type-R GT.

To Honda fans, Spoon Sports needs no introduction. Founded more than 20 years ago by Tatsuru Ichishima, himself an amateur racer, Spoon is one of the most famous Honda tuning companies in existence. Spoon's distinctive yellow and blue paint scheme has appeared on numerous company racecars, campaigned in such events as the 25 Hours of Thunderhill and the Super Taikyu race series. Their philosophy has been built on optimization rather than re-invention, with a parts line-up that consists mostly of naturally aspirated engine assembly, exhausts, suspension kits, stronger drivetrain pieces, and cooling upgrades.

Spoon built its reputation and success through a history of race-derived parts that sought to improve upon, rather than completely replace, Honda's original engineering. For example, Spoon's infamous monoblock brake calipers are designed to function with stock brake rotors and engine balancing is more common than sleeving. Up until now, there wasn't a forced induction kit in sight and the Spoon catalog had a larger selection of mufflers and throttle bodies than high lift camshafts.

This NSX changes all that. From the outside this Honda appears to be an NSX Type-R GT, fit with a set of 17-inch Prodrive wheels. But it's not really that simple. The NSX Type-R GT is a mythical fable in the Honda world, modified beyond the standard 2nd-generation NSX Type-R with the use of carbon bumpers, larger side scoops, and that distinctive roof scoop. Five examples were built solely to homologate the car so that the Super GT (then JGTC) racecars could make use of the scoops and body dimensions. On the street legal GTs, the non-functional roof scoop terminates right onto the rear hatch glass.

The price of entry for a Type-R GT was nearly $500,000 when the car was announced. It's the rarest of all Hondas and some H-badge fans even cling to the belief that the five GTs were never built, with Honda having pulled an elaborate ruse on everyone the world over.

This Spoon NSX is, parts and build-wise, an NSX Type-R GT, but it isn't actually one of the original five. This Honda began life as a standard 2005 Honda NSX Type-R before it was disassembled by Spoon Sports. With years of partnerships and connections, Ichishima has built up a relationship with Honda of Japan that surpasses any dealings aftermarket tuners have with Honda here in the US. Through Honda of Japan, Spoon was able to source the OEM NSX Type-R GT parts necessary for a conversion, such as the bumpers and scoops.

But Spoon wasn't done there. This NSX was designed to be a complete Spoon-built car, not too unlike the wares available from Saleen or Ruf. Thus, a stiffer Spoon suspension was added along with more rigid Spoon monoblock front brake calipers. And you must have noticed by now that this NSX isn't wearing the distinctive yellow and blue Spoon colors that have become synonymous with their name. The reason is simple - only the racecars wear the yellow and blue paint. This NSX is even packing the original stereo system, which was a factory option on JDM Type-R models.

And because this is a true street car, it would need more power. The kind of big, honking, tire smoking power that blows the doors off anything else on the road. For that, Spoon would have to step into uncharted territory. A turbocharger kit was fabricated for the V6 engine using a single HKS 3037 turbo. With a tight engine bay making packaging difficult, the turbo is low mounted within the chassis, mere inches above the ground. The air-to-air intercooler is also low-mounted, with the compressor outlet nearly feeding directly into it. Scoops and ducting on the underside funnel air through the core and a custom Spoon oil pan and oil cooler kit help keep temps in check. Power output is now a claimed 420bhp, up from the factory rating of 280bhp. The turbocharger was chosen for response and low-end power, with boost coming on quickly and, unfortunately, tapering off as the RPMs reach redline.

We brought the Spoon NSX Type-R GT out to Infineon Raceway for our testing, which features elevation changes, blind crests, the quick downhill left Carousel turn, and the treacherous car-eating Turn 10. As well as this NSX drove, with empty pavement and curbing in front of us, we couldn't help but wish that we also had on hand Spoon's other NSX Type-R GT, the full race version. Prepared for the upcoming 55th Macau Grand Prix (which will have passed by the time you read this), the yellow and blue Spoon NSX Type-R GT racecar features an even stiffer suspension, stickier tires, and full safety prep.

Beyond its performance, perhaps one of the most interesting elements of this car is its availability. Spoon Sports will soon begin selling copies of this car to the general public, with early estimates for pricing hovering in the $135,000 range. An official announcement will be made at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Salon. We've received images from Spoon's Tokyo headquarters of readied GT bumpers and carbon-kevlar Recaro seats resting in storage after delivery from Honda. Spoon is even planning on providing this treatment to left-hand drive US-model NSXs, which should help owners step around tricky US importation laws governing ownership of Japanese-market vehicles.

This is a huge article, so here's the rest of the link, excellent read;
http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/features/sccp_0902_2005_honda_nsx_type_r/gt_body.html

The History of the NSX

Found a really good article for all of you NSX fans out there....
By Steve Neil
JDMGTR

Welcome to part one of my history of Japanese sports cars. I thought I’d begin with a car that started out as a great superpower in the world of exotics, and ended as a victim of poor marketing and even poorer decisions.

The Honda NSX (AKA the Acura NSX in the US) was heralded as a Ferrari killer of its time. It had nowhere near the power of most of the German and Italian supercars. However it did have the comfort, handling, low weight and reliability that most of them lacked. It was a truly amazing piece of machinery, one that brought back the essence of sports cars, where the driver’s pleasure was the number one priority.

It wasn’t so much what Honda brought to the table, as how Honda smashed the table down to the floor.

In mid 1987 Honda was in the middle of a financial crisis that was crippling the world. They had just signed a contract with Mclaren’s F1 team to join the Formula One drivers championship for 1988, and the President of Honda wanted a car made to celebrate the contract. A chassis design from 1986 (by Pininfarina) was to be used, and Takeo Fukui assigned Shigeru Uehara to make a car that weighed less then the current Ferrari 328 GTS, which produced more horsepower. It needed to handle better, and it needed to look just as good. The Uehara set out on his task, but his work was about to be shot down…

In early winter of 1987, he came back with the designs. He had high hopes, with a mid mounted V6 and a beautiful body. While he was quite pleased with his work, Takeo Fukui was not. He had insisted first and foremost that the new car be lighter, but it ended up being heavier than even the Mondial, as Shigeru Uehara had decided to use fiberglass for the main components. Fukui sent Uehara back again, and aluminum was chosen instead, as it weighed less. The only drawback was its durability.

By mid 1988 the car was ready. When it was unveiled, it wasn’t even really that groundbreaking, and nobody took it seriously. That is, until the test drives started.

With 280 horsepower from a tiny V6 in the back, and even less weight then the newly introduced 348 from Ferrari, the car was garnering rave reviews. Opinions were at first mixed on the design of the car, but they quickly softened due to the 348’s oddly proportioned body, in comparison to the NSX’s smooth lines.

It featured a black greenhouse and pop-up headlights, as well as a great sound system and a polished leather interior. It didn’t sputter, or spat, and with a 0-60 time of a little over 5 seconds, it was awfully good for the day. It handled better then any contemporary Ferrari or Lamborghini, with even Gordon Murray saying it was his inspiration for the legendary McLaren F1.

By 1992, Honda had hit success with NSX. It was marketed around the world, and it was pushing boundaries in driver enjoyment. Honda, however, wanted to up the ante, and decided to hit a home run with the NSX-R. This R moniker was suggestive of the car’s racing heritage, and all the things that you had thought you’d known about the NSX were thrown right out the window. The stereo was gone, as was the sound deadening that would hold it in place. Air conditioning was dumped, too, in favor of… well nothing. This is what made the NSX-R a true driver’s car. There was nothing to bother you, and nothing to distract you from the task of driving, and driving HARD (which the re-calibrated suspension was guaranteed to deliver).

Recaro Redback seats were fitted, and inside a custom Honda shift knob in brushed aluminum caught your eye right away. The silver Honda badge was replaced with a red one, and the only colors offered at launch were White, Yellow, and Black. More colors were added later on, but even with all the uniqueness that the car offered, it was never sold in America.

In 1995 Honda added targa tops to the mix, and in 1997 raised the power to 290, and offered the S-Zero and Zanardi editions to Euro and Asian markets, in order to give some variety to an aging design. The S- Zero offered a stiffer suspension, and the Zanardi was a special edition designed in referendum to the famed racer. In 2002 the NSX received a facelift all round, and power was raised unofficially to 320 horsepower (Honda officials decline to disclose how much the power was raised). It featured new side sills, and a new rear bumper and light setup, as well as a brand new front end that offered fixed headlamps, instead of the old popup units. The car got to 60 in only 4.7 seconds, but was still well behind it’s now updated competition. A new Type R was offered as well, with 340 horsepower, a new carbon fibre hood with a rearward facing scoop, and new carbon fibre rear wing. The interior gained carbon accents, and the car could bump out 0-60 in only 4.4 seconds. This car however, was the last update that the NSX would see.

In 2005, production ceased of the NSX. Heralded by many as one of the most attractive cars in the world, it left sadly outdated. Still, even today, its handling and reliability cast a shadow that modern cars have yet to counter, and it still makes heads turn.

Having driven a few NSX’s, I can tell you that the car is indeed a pleasure to drive. The rear tends to float at low speeds around corners, but I can’t think of any car that can still turn heads after 20 years, and still be stable enough to drive at 100 miles per hour with a coffee in your hand. This car made Japanese cars what they are in my opinion, and thankfully, it’s legacy lives on in enthusiasts worldwide.

Happy and safe driving.

Source (with more pic's);
http://blog.cardomain.com/2009/02/03/the-history-of-the-honda-nsx/#more-10757

Next Gen Acura NSX, Dead or not Dead?

Well? Is it dead (for now) or is it alive? First off, Honda released word that the upcoming (and "faster than the Nissan GT-R") was cancelled due to current world economics. Then a few days later a few sites report that Honda is going to be showing how far they had gotten by showing off their wares at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. It appears that the reports were a translation error and that the NSX is indeed shelved.

Anyway, here is a link to some back story;

http://www.worldcarfans.com/9081231.003/acura-nsx-supercar-is-not-dead

Honda Cancells Acura NSX

Honda has cancelled the new NSX as part of a radical restructuring of its car making business.
The V10-engined supercar, which was a direct challenge to Ferrari and Porsche, would have been the most powerful production car that the company had ever produced.
Honda CEO Takeo Fukui announced the move in his end of year speech, saying that all development of the car would be cancelled. The company has also withdrawn its plan to introduce the Acura brand to Japan in 2010.
The Honda boss had previously emphasised the importance of the NSX to Honda's brand, unequivocally telling Autocar at the end of last year: "The new supercar is necessary for Honda."
Fukui had decided to concentrate on Honda's environmental credentials. He believes that hybrid drivetrains offer "the most realistic path for CO2 reduction at this moment". This means that Honda will focus its energy on developing hybrid technologies and "achieving mass market penetration as soon as possible".
The cancellation of the Honda NSX will come as a bitter disappointment to fans of the old model, which finally went off sale in 2005, after 15 years in production.

Source;
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle.aspx?AR=236594

Visiting the Honda HSC

The Honda HSC (High-performance Sports Concept) was initially shown to the public at the 2003 Tokyo Auto Show and although Honda never confirmed it, most thought that the HSC was going to be the next generation NSX.

The 2003 HSC featured a light weight, mid-mounted aluminum 3.5L V6 i-Vtec engine, with a 6 speed transmission controlled by either an F1 style paddle shifter on the steering wheel, or a unique dial shifter on the center console. When shifted into reverse, the navigation system's adjustable flat-panel screen in the center console becomes a display for a rear mounted camera. Abundant leather and aluminum trim pieces round out the interior, an all aluminum frame with Carbon Fibre body panels keep it light, and scissor style doors affirm its Super Car status.

I think that the back end of this concept would be a nice touch onto what Honda is proposing to be the next NSX, it stays closer to the actual NSX roots in my opinion.

Here's a link to the Honda HSC design page from Honda;
http://world.honda.com/collection-hall/globaldesign/hsc.html

Next Acura NSX to have more Performance than the GT-R (and cost more too!)

While Honda doesn’t seem to be a fan of V8s, a V10 is a whole different story. According to the company’s Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo, the V10 powered NSX is on the way and Honda will do all it can to make it the best sports car in its category.

This sort of discussion was made between the American Honda people and r&d people, and some people were questioning whether it’s really necessary to have a V-10,” Kondo said in an interview with Automotive News. “But sports is a special category. We said if we’re going to do it, we’re going to go to the extreme.”

Kondo said that Honda is expecting to sell 1,000 units of the NSX in the U.S. annually. The NSX is rumored to carry a price tag of $160,000 when it debuts as a 2011 model year.

Kondo says that while the price tag may be well above the NSX’s $70,000 Nissan GT-R rival, it will also have better performance.

Source;
http://www.egmcartech.com/2008/10/13/acura-nsx-to-cost-twice-as-much-as-gt-r-will-have-better-performance/#more-26912

Art Designer Leon Paz Comes up with a Modern Acura Concept

Acura's new design language, as seen on the 2009 TL, is fronted by a shield-like appendage that has received mixed reviews. The Acura 2+1 -- the numbers describe the seating arrangement -- by design student Leon Paz is what would happen if you took the shield theme to one natural conclusion. By maintaining the edge throughout the concept's "modern baroque styling," Paz has come up we something we kinda dig.

The body is fashioned from a plastic that is harder than fiberglass, and Paz has done a great job in creating lines that evoke skin stretched over a frame. The upper surface is one continuous window that shows off the twin-turbo V6 and the Acura logo for the cylinder covers. There is no hood -- at your yearly service, the dealer would lift the glass and perform any engine maintenance.

The 2+1 would be an aspirational step for those who want an NSX but can't afford one yet. Based on what we've seen of the NSX so far, we'd probably rather have the 2+1. However, our most pressing question about the car isn't about the design -- we really want to know what is the meaning of "OW AHH" scrolled in LED's across the rear? Check out the gallery of high-res images below, and maybe you can tell us...

Source;
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/20/acura-2-1-design-study-takes-superman-shield-to-next-level/