Maserati 4200 GT Coupe vs. Next Gen NSX

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sabashioyaki

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I hope Acura has something potent planned for the NSX because the competition is starting to look very tough.

Here are some specs on the new Maserati:

32 valve 4.2 V8
390bhp@7000, 333lb-ft@4500
F1 6spd
3680 pds
$83,315

I think that Acura has to go with a steel body mid engined V8 if they want to sell more than a few hundered NSXs per year. They have to undercut the Maserati on price while outperforming it also.
 
I don't see the Next gen NSX costing any less than the current car.

I would hope that it will have an i-VTEC V8 engine that produces around 400 HP and 300 torque. That is my wish list at least.

I am not sure about the reliability of masrerati. I think the old ones were not very reliable. I have no idea how the new cars are. I saw the spyder at ferrari of dallas last weekend. The car looks "ok". It is very small and not nearly as pretty as an NSX. I think it sticked for just under 100K, so I doubt the coupe will sell for much less.

Here is the pic
mas.jpg


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NetViper -= 100% Stock EBP 2000 Civic Si =- Still looking to get an NSX, but at least I can live life at 8,000 RPM!
 
Maserati has a pretty rough uphill battle trying to convince people that they should forget about cars like the Bi-Turbo.

I see the future NSX's competition being more from cars that are, ironically, a lot cheaper.

Honda has to get the NSX performance and handling into the stratosphere to put distance between the NSX and cars like the Z06 and the Viper. They already kill those two cars on refinement, so that's no problem.

Perhaps the arch-rival of the NSX, however, is the 911. Honda also has to really get a little bit arrogant and drop the "low key" approach. They need to start stealing some 911 NA buyers away.

Of course, I have also heard that they only really plan on selling ~500 of the redesigned NSX per year. If that's the case, I guess they don't need to do much
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The
 
The Maserati looks pretty bland in the picture. I saw a fly yellow one at Daytona last month that was absolutely gorgeous. I've not been much of a Maserati fan, but I was blown away by the look. 390bhp isn't bad either. If I was in the market I would still wait to see how long they will last... but then I'm not quite in the impulsive Italian exoticar purchaser category yet.

I would love to see Honda go after the Porsche market with the next NSX, but I just don't see them having the desire or the dealer network to support it. If they continue to make a low volume, high quality, high performance boutique car without the brand mystique then I guess I'll be happy too
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I just hope they have justified the finances to do a proper next-gen car.
 
I think the real issue for the next gen NSX comes from sources they never had to contend with in the past. Almost every Japanese auto maker is dropping the gentlemans agreement on HP output due to compitition from other countries such as Italy and the USA. With the unwriten politics out of the way, Japanese auto makers have the green light to build whatever will make the new century buyer happy. Thanks to dramatic evolution of what a car is capable of doing vs. price of development, most makers are developing extremely potent cars that fall BELOW the $100,000 price tag. We now see "cheapie" cars that are capable of running .25's in 6 seconds for under $20,000! In turn, if auto makers want us to purchase their car that costs $100K+ they really need to show us cutting edge pseudo-magical technology and mainly SUPERIOR performance. If the new NSX falls anything shy of what Honda F1 or GT teams are capable of squeezing out of a supercar, Toyota and Nissan are prepared to fill the exotic Japanese supercar market with new platforms that are nearing product completion. I promise that when the next gen NSX comes to market, there will be heavy brotherly compitition landing on the neighboring platform at its unveiling motor show. This is good for us because Honda knows this and is pushing the envelope even as I sit here and waste my time in the forums until our new H-toy comes to market! :P
 
Juice has hit the nail on the head. If Honda want to make a cheap, hot, fast car they have already done it with the S2000. Very fun to drive and at a great price point. The fact is that horsepower and weight ratios are getting real cheap. Look at the dropping times for 0-60 over the past 15 years. It is amazing. My LS430 4 door ton of a tank does 0-60 in 6.3 or something. That use to be fast for a sportscar 15 years ago. The Z06 hit 4 for pocket change. Boy toy rocket jets for $20,000 will be a nothing special story. So what is Honda to do. The NSX was a exotic that shocked Ferrari and sent them back to the drawing board. Honda needs to do the same again with the next Acura NSX...exotic, exotic, exotic Ferrari killer that works and runs like a 911. They shoud not try to take on the the image of a high volume cheap, boring, me to, boy toy. I would put a price point of $125,000. For this amount of $ (yen) Honda can put together a 0-60 3.7 second sports car that handles and looks exotic, but provides Honda (Acura) with a proud world class image that everyone will respect. I do not think they need to make a profit off this from this car...this would be an image project. Speed and cheap will soon be very easy and nothing SPECIAL, but IMAGE for Honda (Acura)and the buyer should be their continuing goal. People buy dreams, not a car when they by an NSX.

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I think the next car should be able to beat the Z06 on the track. That would be a good goal. It should also beat the 360 ferrari and 911 turbo. To do all that, I think they will need at least a 450 HP V8 i-VTEC. They will also need ceramic brakes to help it stop and some bigger tires for grip. Of course, the NSX HAS to remain as reliable and as good of a daily driver as the current car IMO. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.

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NetViper -= 100% Stock EBP 2000 Civic Si =- Still looking to get an NSX, but at least I can live life at 8,000 RPM!
 
Im wondering at what point we will reach critical mass with regards to straight line performance.

How quick does anyone really need to be before these cars are basically top fuel dragsters???

Is it actually necessary for a car to do 0-60 in 3 sec with a 9 sec, 154mph 1/4 mile stock? It seems insane to me that factory stock car specs are inching towards the numbers of the most heavily modified brutes.

I think, at some point, there will be a break.

If the econo-sports cars manage to reach Z06 levels of performance in a few years, the high dollar marques are going to need to do something beyond just straight line performance for their buyers.

To be honest, I didn't buy an NSX because it is the quickest car out there (it isn't by a long shot) and I wouldn't buy a Z06 over a 911TT just because the Z06 bested it at the track. There is something to be said for exclusivity and overall quality as well... Otherwise we'd all be driving blown Mustangs...

[This message has been edited by spookyp (edited 11 March 2002).]
 
I have not seen in person the Maserati 4200 GT. I would not under estimate the quality of the Maserati 4200 GT, I know Maserati has had poor build quality in the past. I believe you will see a whole new car company now that Ferrari is the parent company and they have made great strides in producing great cars.
 
Yeah the 3680pds is the only spec I don't like. I hope Acura is able to keep the weight close to 3200pds, but there's always the inevitable weight gain. Bigger engine, bigger brakes and wheels, perhaps the use of more steel, and always more safety items. I think Ferrari may be pushing the Maserati as more of a GT car than a sports car, it has a usable back seat. They don't want to crowd the 360.
 
Originally posted by spookyp:
.......Of course, I have also heard that they only really plan on selling ~500 of the redesigned NSX per year. If that's the case, I guess they don't need to do much
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I doubt Honda will sell 500 2002 NSXs per year, have u seen the pics of the imola orange in recent threads - god damn the more i see it the more depressed i get
 

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