Honda confirmed the NSX will be produced at a $70-million production facility to be housed inside Honda’s former North American logistics facility. Located only a few miles from both Honda of America’s R&D center and Honda Engineering North America’s center for the development of new production technologies, the 184,000-square-foot facility will be the maker’s third plant in the state. Honda says the new production facility will employ approximately 100 highly skilled employees, culled from existing Honda operations in the state, and the NSX’s powertrain will be assembled at Honda’s engine plant in Anna, Ohio.
For a car that went out of production in 2005, the NSX sure has made a lot of news.A failed revival began in the late Aughts when Acura showed its Advanced Sports Car concept in Detroit—the same venue for this new concept’s debut. It had morphed from a supercar with its engine mounted amidships to a front-engine V-10 GT and in that iteration underwent extensive testing at the Nürburgring, eventually evolving into a Honda-badged race car. Imminent production was rumored, but it was not to be; mid-engine purists can thank the recession and environmental concerns for the V-10 car’s demise.
But barring any further changes of heart or circumstance, the NSX will soon return. The car, previewed by this concept, has the blessing of Honda’s top man, CEO Takanobu Ito, the very person in charge of the original NSX’s development. While the mid-engine concept remains intact, there will be some changes: a hybrid system has been added and it will facilitate all-wheel drive.
Acura calls the system Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive—we got a preview of the basic setup on a recent trip to Japan by way of a front-engine Honda Accord demonstration vehicle. The same principles should apply to the NSX, albeit flipped front-to-back to match the supercar’s powertrain layout.
A failed revival began in the late Aughts when Acura showed its Advanced Sports Car concept in Detroit—the same venue for this new concept’s debut. It had morphed from a supercar with its engine mounted amidships to a front-engine V-10 GT and in that iteration underwent extensive testing at the Nürburgring, eventually evolving into a Honda-badged race car. Imminent production was rumored, but it was not to be; mid-engine purists can thank the recession and environmental concerns for the V-10 car’s demise.
But barring any further changes of heart or circumstance, the NSX will soon return. The car, previewed by this concept, has the blessing of Honda’s top man, CEO Takanobu Ito, the very person in charge of the original NSX’s development. While the mid-engine concept remains intact, there will be some changes: a hybrid system has been added and it will facilitate all-wheel drive.
Acura calls the system Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive—we got a preview of the basic setup on a recent trip to Japan by way of a front-engine Honda Accord demonstration vehicle. The same principles should apply to the NSX, albeit flipped front-to-back to match the supercar’s powertrain layout.
The concept’s mid-mounted V-6 is connected to a dual-clutch automatic transmission with a built-in electric motor, which sends power to the rear wheels. An additional pair of electric motors sits at the front axle to provide all-wheel drive via what Acura calls a Bilateral Torque Adjustable Control System.
Perhaps better understood using the more common “torque vectoring” descriptor, this new setup can shuttle torque from left to right just like in Acuras equipped with current SH-AWD, although here it’s done completely electrically and at the opposite end of the car. The system also would allow electric-only operation using solely the front wheels. When the engine is running, we expect the electrified wheels would be called into action only when extra power or traction is needed.
Perhaps better understood using the more common “torque vectoring” descriptor, this new setup can shuttle torque from left to right just like in Acuras equipped with current SH-AWD, although here it’s done completely electrically and at the opposite end of the car. The system also would allow electric-only operation using solely the front wheels. When the engine is running, we expect the electrified wheels would be called into action only when extra power or traction is needed.
In addition to adding power, the by-wire all-wheel-drive/hybrid layout should save weight compared to a conventional driveshaft-based system. As it did with the original NSX, Acura is aiming for a light car with a high power-to-weight ratio and impressive fuel economy, all of which portend well for the production car. More encouragement: An Acura engineer recently asked for our thoughts on both the Audi R8’s driving experience and Porsche’s hybrid system. It seems they’ve considered the right benchmarks. The car’s dimensions, inside those of an R8, seem to back that up.
We’re told the car will have a price tag roughly one-third that of Lexus’s magnum-opus LFA, likely putting the Acura somewhere above the $100K mark. The NSX is being developed by Acura in America; going forward, Honda’s U.S. team will be responsible for the bulk of the luxury unit’s cars. What’s more, when the car goes into production within three years it will be built in Ohio. As in Ohio, America.
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