Honda unveils the look of its next—and most potent—sports car at the Tokyo show. BY PETER LYON
It has received more power, more gears, and some styling changes over the years, but the Acura NSX (a Honda-brand vehicle elsewhere in the world) has been largely unchanged for more than a dozen years—an eternity in the sports-car world.
Well, feast your eyes on the long-awaited replacement. All right, perhaps we're getting ahead of ourselves. Actually, the vehicle you see here is technically a concept called the HSC (for Honda Sports Concept), but even Honda won't deny that this mid-engine, V-6-powered sports-car concept is essentially the next-generation production car, due within the next two years.
The high-performance sports car boasts hood, headlight, and front air-dam shapes that strongly resemble at least a couple of Ferraris we can name (the 360 Modena and the Enzo). Nobuki Ebisawa, senior chief engineer in charge of product development, admits the HSC does have some similarities to Ferraris and that we can expect a few sheetmetal modifications before they finalize the design to lessen the resemblance. While they're at it, one might hope for a slightly less weird B-pillar and rear window. Although its styling will ultimately determine the car's success or failure on the world stage, what lies beneath that exterior is what has the industry buzzing.
Honda would only say the HSC gets a V-6 that is “bigger” than the NSX's current 3.2-liter. We hear the engine will be in the 3.5-to-3.8-liter range. Honda says only that the car generates “more than 300 horsepower.” Considering the current engine makes 290 horses, 300 would not be a large bump. But when you check out the huge tires (245/35ZR-19 up front, 295/30ZR-19 at the rear) and the six-piston Brembo brake calipers on the front and rear, you get the idea that this will be no incremental increase in horsepower. Credible sources put the real power output of the naturally aspirated V-6 at more than 350; others think it could be as high as 380! If Honda wants to be compared with Ferrari and Porsche, as one engineer openly admits, the NSX will need to make at least 350 horsepower.
The NSX will channel its power to the rear wheels—contrary to earlier speculation that it would employ the complex four-wheel-drive system seen on the 400-hp Dualnote concept car of two years ago.
The HSC, and presumably the resulting NSX, also has a six-speed automated manual transmission with paddle shifters—just like the Ferrari F1 system.
It has received more power, more gears, and some styling changes over the years, but the Acura NSX (a Honda-brand vehicle elsewhere in the world) has been largely unchanged for more than a dozen years—an eternity in the sports-car world.
Well, feast your eyes on the long-awaited replacement. All right, perhaps we're getting ahead of ourselves. Actually, the vehicle you see here is technically a concept called the HSC (for Honda Sports Concept), but even Honda won't deny that this mid-engine, V-6-powered sports-car concept is essentially the next-generation production car, due within the next two years.
The high-performance sports car boasts hood, headlight, and front air-dam shapes that strongly resemble at least a couple of Ferraris we can name (the 360 Modena and the Enzo). Nobuki Ebisawa, senior chief engineer in charge of product development, admits the HSC does have some similarities to Ferraris and that we can expect a few sheetmetal modifications before they finalize the design to lessen the resemblance. While they're at it, one might hope for a slightly less weird B-pillar and rear window. Although its styling will ultimately determine the car's success or failure on the world stage, what lies beneath that exterior is what has the industry buzzing.
Honda would only say the HSC gets a V-6 that is “bigger” than the NSX's current 3.2-liter. We hear the engine will be in the 3.5-to-3.8-liter range. Honda says only that the car generates “more than 300 horsepower.” Considering the current engine makes 290 horses, 300 would not be a large bump. But when you check out the huge tires (245/35ZR-19 up front, 295/30ZR-19 at the rear) and the six-piston Brembo brake calipers on the front and rear, you get the idea that this will be no incremental increase in horsepower. Credible sources put the real power output of the naturally aspirated V-6 at more than 350; others think it could be as high as 380! If Honda wants to be compared with Ferrari and Porsche, as one engineer openly admits, the NSX will need to make at least 350 horsepower.
The NSX will channel its power to the rear wheels—contrary to earlier speculation that it would employ the complex four-wheel-drive system seen on the 400-hp Dualnote concept car of two years ago.
The HSC, and presumably the resulting NSX, also has a six-speed automated manual transmission with paddle shifters—just like the Ferrari F1 system.
..........and so it continues. Have you heard the one about something called a te-le-graph!
