Euro Rivals Put Brakes On Japanese Supercars
Japanese plans to take the supercar world by storm have been put on hold - because European rivals are being viewed as just too powerful.
Originally, Honda, Nissan and Toyota had considered introducing theirNSX, GT-R and Supra replacements by 2005. However, since the launch of Europeans rivals such as Lamborghini's 571bhp Murciélago, the 660bhp Ferrari Enzo and 462bhp Porsche 911 GT2, the debuts have now been pushed back.
At the Tokyo show, Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn said: "We will launch the GT-R in 2007, but not before." Sources from Honda, meanwhile, said that the company's new NSX, based on the radical HSC concept, won't appear before 2006. Engineers have been ordered back to the drawing board to produce machines capable of matching their European rivals' huge output.
Currently, Japanese firms are bound by a gentleman's agreement to keep to less than 280bhp. But petrol and electric hybrid engines allow makers to develop powerful units without compromising fuel efficiency or emissions standards.
Japanese plans to take the supercar world by storm have been put on hold - because European rivals are being viewed as just too powerful.
Originally, Honda, Nissan and Toyota had considered introducing theirNSX, GT-R and Supra replacements by 2005. However, since the launch of Europeans rivals such as Lamborghini's 571bhp Murciélago, the 660bhp Ferrari Enzo and 462bhp Porsche 911 GT2, the debuts have now been pushed back.
At the Tokyo show, Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn said: "We will launch the GT-R in 2007, but not before." Sources from Honda, meanwhile, said that the company's new NSX, based on the radical HSC concept, won't appear before 2006. Engineers have been ordered back to the drawing board to produce machines capable of matching their European rivals' huge output.
Currently, Japanese firms are bound by a gentleman's agreement to keep to less than 280bhp. But petrol and electric hybrid engines allow makers to develop powerful units without compromising fuel efficiency or emissions standards.
with the new hybrid engine, the more the better of course. 
i'd be over it if there was an option to shut it down to 4 or 6 cylinders for everyday use... then back up to a V-10 for friday nights. 
they did horrible last season, and last race in japan. i was glad to see sato return and get a pretty good finish (6th) considering, he hasn't raced in about a year. more speculations, honda's new light weight engine is to be good to contend with the top 3 manufacturers next year. and with takuma and jensen having good teamwork in the practice sessions, i hope that honda can regain the F1 thrown.
