Seen it already and he didn't particularly like either engine sound. But are we talking inside the car or outside? The 458 sounds way better outside the car.
First Drive C&D
- Thread starter NetViper
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Seen it already and he didn't particularly like either engine sound. But are we talking inside the car or outside? The 458 sounds way better outside the car.
fastaussie
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at 15 1/2 minutes in, he says to him the sound is even better than a 458...
p.s. i love the sound of the 458, inside or out. i have no doubts i'll love the sound of the 488 also.
Speaking of Chris Harris, I reckon we'll be seeing a very positive NSX review from him.
I am betting he is going say he is NOT a fan.
He is positively a traditionalist IMO and not a bit Japanese or Asian Sports Car guy as far as I can tell.
And he's not rushing to publish his review. Not a good sign.
Want to place a bet? I refuse to declare if I have any insider knowledge.
fastaussie
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i do have insider knowledge, and i don't think the car is what you think it's going to be.
every review i've seen of his, he seems to be unbiased, impartial, and right on the money with his observations and remarks. if he doesn't give the NSX an amazing review, then it probably isn't an amazing car (in relation to the other amazing cars he's driven, which is all of them)...
I'm only talking about the Chris Harris review, I know nothing more about the car than what I've read.
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Perhaps he is unbiased but its hard to ignore his lack of response to the car's concept, development and media drive that he attended. The only thing I have seen him say regarding the new model in any way was his tweet about 2 weeks ago where he only commented on the other reviewer's comments and said something like: I don't think I drove the same car they did.
It's basically a non-response.
I suspect there is no review from Chris since it's likely he was not allowed to drive the car for very long.
The majority of the press got invited to drive one of two white NSX's at Honda's test track in Japan. The track is an uninteresting oval, they were only allowed 2 laps, and Track Mode on the cars was disabled. It appears that only a small group of American journalists were allowed to drive the car in the US where they were allowed multiple drives on a more interesting track with Track Mode available.
Also, I think your characterization of Chris being a traditionalist is wrong. Watch his earliest review of the 12C. There is nothing traditional about the 12C and he even addresses this subject at length in the video.
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The European media pays little attention to Japanese cars. Chris is more or less the same as all the other European press in this regard. For instance when the 2nd gen R8 was unveiled I noticed it received far more European press coverage than the NSX has ever seen there. Yet the 2nd gen R8 is evolutionary and thus actually less newsworthy than the new NSX.
Well perhaps you have a point. But traditionalist also could apply to one's preference for legendary marques and McLaren has that in spades with its racing heritage. And let's not forget that it was a 12C he was reviewing and that car was amazing when it was first released.
I just think that any mainstream car company that chooses to enter the fray is asking for a heap of scrutiny from the automotive press - especially if that car company is not from Germany, Italy or England.
Just my .02.
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This is what I mean. They just don't get the same respect from the automotive press and I am afraid Harris is no exception.
I'm going to have to agree here. I would be surprised if Harris gives the new NSX a good review.
I don't really understand where you are coming from. From my experience Chris is fair and unbiased about all the cars he reviews regardless of origin. Jap cars are mainstream on uk streets so I can't see him distinguishing. He might ignore US brands because we just don't get them here but he knows the cars still purely because he loves all cars.
Remember that this is the guy who was banned from test driving ferraris because he was honest.
He was positive about the GTR when it came out and complimentary about mine when he drove it (I wasn't there and do it know him) so I don't think you can assume he will be negative simply because Honda isn't European.
Remember that this is the guy who was banned from test driving ferraris because he was honest.
He was positive about the GTR when it came out and complimentary about mine when he drove it (I wasn't there and do it know him) so I don't think you can assume he will be negative simply because Honda isn't European.
I'm not doubting his honesty or legitimacy but I read his instagram post as a negative one... Especially seeing as how people outside of the US have been shafted with no track mode and such. It's very reminiscent of the Ferrari complaints he had.
I could be wrong. We shall see. The surprise would be a pleasant one.
I could be wrong. We shall see. The surprise would be a pleasant one.
I took adamantium's post to have carefully chosen words implying that he did have inside info regarding CH's review, just not none about the car itself.
What? Why would Honda/Acura do that?!
For the latest reviews that is. It was not ready apparently.
fastaussie
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the fact that the car is still not ready but journalists and magazines are being allowed to drive it is ridiculous. does anyone really know what the hell Honda is doing? i bet they don't! this whole launch is absurd to be honest.
nothing so far is going well with this car, it's going about as good as the F1 team...
nothing so far is going well with this car, it's going about as good as the F1 team...
I really like the fact that they gave journalists an opportunity to weigh in before they released the final product. They, like you apparently, have extensive experience with driving the best cars in the world and many of them are real drivers. Its just another distinct group of experts from which they can obtain some feedback and make some final tweaks - 4 - 6 months before its out. They did the same thing with the original and really improved the product according to the criticisms.
Also to say that "nothing so far is going well with this car" is a bit harsh in my opinion. It looks better than it ever did, has more power than they promised, seems to be working with the new torque vectoring and hybrid technology and overall is getting pretty positive reviews. Many have said that the platform has immense potential and they just need to fine tune some things.
Its tempting to keep comparing this car to a 488 but it really is not in that price range. The 911 Turbo (non S) is a more direct competitor. But the NSX has more HP (same lb/hp) more torque (a better lb/ft.lb) and is said to be faster to sixty, has an innovative 4 wheel drive hybrid system that will have better turn in and better gas mileage. And the NSX is made of aluminum and carbon fiber (not just steel) and despite all the complaints, the NSX looks loads better.
The real question is how can they make this car for only $155K?
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Well there is also this to consider. The people outside of the US were invited to drive the two white gen 2s. The people inside the US either drove the blue or black ones. Chris posted a pic of the black one, so maybe he was invited to the US to drive it on the track properly.
Either way, he hasn't posted a review yet, so who knows what's really going on.
Autoweek said they launched the new NSX 20 times with no issues or fuss from the car or development team that was present for the event. That speaks a lot for the reliability of the car and how confident team Acura in America is. It seems that the US cars are further along than the overseas cars as again, apparently they could not use track mode for the white ones. It makes senses as there seems to be more testing and tuning done nationwide for the US cars.
Either way, he hasn't posted a review yet, so who knows what's really going on.
Autoweek said they launched the new NSX 20 times with no issues or fuss from the car or development team that was present for the event. That speaks a lot for the reliability of the car and how confident team Acura in America is. It seems that the US cars are further along than the overseas cars as again, apparently they could not use track mode for the white ones. It makes senses as there seems to be more testing and tuning done nationwide for the US cars.
It's obvious that most of the US publications were not allowed to do an extensive video review of the car, so why would Chris be any different? The only video review that was done on the street was from Automobile Magazine. And the Automobile Magazine review is largely just two guys talking to each other while driving-- it really doesn't show many details of the car. Thus even if Chris was given an NSX to drive on the street, it seems likely he would not be allowed to do a complete video review in his typical style. If you believe I'm wrong, then where are the video reviews on the street from Car & Driver, Motor Trend, etc?
Thus I suspect Chris is in a position of not knowing enough yet and/or not being allowed to share everything he knows. If he wants access to the final car when it's released, I doubt he would risk not obeying Honda's wishes. It seems like Honda may be trying too hard manage the press's reactions.
Chris only released the teaser on Instagram in order to say to his followers, "hey I got to drive the car too.... I'm in the know too." I don't see the comment as an indication of something negative.
fastaussie
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well, typically a major car manufacturer wouldn't let journalists and editors do their R&D work for them. you hire a team of professional engineers and R&D people for that. and guys like Ayrton Senna and Bobby Rahal can certainly give some pretty good feedback on the driving side of things also. not Joe Blow from So & So Car magazine. most writers aren't especially good drivers anyways, trust me. more the point is putting your flagship on display for all to see, and it's not even completed yet.
they car may look alright, but that's a highly personal and subjective opinion. it does have more than 550 horsepower, but still far less than everything else. and it's pretty heavy as well. and privy to some inside information, i don't think it's going to be as hot as you blokes are expecting.
like before, and for the past several years, we can only wait and see...
p.s. is there even a price yet?
I'm pretty sure Mclaren took note of the journalists when they unilaterally panned the noise the MP4-12C made and then revised it for new and existing owners.
Am also pretty sure Chris was in the states for the review. Don't see why he couldn't have put a small review together from the brief track session.
Am also pretty sure Chris was in the states for the review. Don't see why he couldn't have put a small review together from the brief track session.
The reason I took it as negative is because Autoweek posted a "revolutionary" positive review for the NSX with a track video and it was generally well received by the US reviewers given what they were working with. Now Top Gear was not so positive, but they did not get to experience track mode and sounded like they went into the review with much resentment for Honda/Acura to begin with.
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I think it's probably the latter though, Chris and most people simply do not what to make of it just yet.
It seems worth noting that Honda was letting journalists drive and write extensively about the original NSX back in 1989. It was clearly not finished then either.
e.g.: http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Media/magazines/road_track-september_1989.htm
Look at McLaren, who released the 12C after internal testing, only to receive lukewarm reviews that showed they needed to fine tune the software around the handling and stability control.
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