Is this old news?
The following article was taken from SPEED magazine APRIL-MAY edition 2004.
"The first and last word on the new NSX"
April is traditionally a quiet month for car launches, but Honda japan has seized the opportunity and unveiled a 90 percent production-ready version of their next-generation NSX. Due to go on sale late 2005, Honda are taking to the punch right up to Italy and Germany's finest by ditching NSX's traditional 3.6 V6 in favour of a heavily de-tuned three-litre V10 based off Mugen's 2001 season Formula One Engine!
The move, nothing short of a masterstroke, provides the car maker with excellent marketing potential for their Formula One campaign. "The block and crank are essentially F1 components, although we developed a more robust, deeper-skirt piston for the road car," explains engine guru C.C. Koenigsegg. "We've reduced engine speed to a 9000rpm maximum, and have replaced the F1-style pneumatic valve system with VTEC, which will provide excellent low-to mid-range torque essential for the road." Honda engineers simply reduce rpm low enough for acceptable emissions and power/torque output, allowing massive flexibility for power adjustment over the model's lifespan, or for use in various forms of motor sport. Although unconfrimed, the JDM base model is claimed at to have 206kw@7400rpm while other world markets should get 340kW
At the top of the heap will be the big-mutha Mugen special: the NSX-R. Honda are likely to raise power on this limited-build Type-R model to around 450kw ( @ 11,500 rpm !!!!) and strip it of excess weight (around 1050kg) with an aim of matching Ferrari's Enzo punch for punch.
NSX's aluminum monocoque construction sets the cabin further foward than the old car, to allow room for the V10 and it's compact, longitudinal six-speed gearbox. And, once again, double wishbone with coil springs are used all 'round, while wheels are 19-inch front and 20-inch rear, enclosing AP racing brake hardware. And NSX now tips the scales under 1200kg (2645.52 pounds) - over 200g less than the current NSX-T - largely due to mid-mounted lightweight mechnicals which yeild a natural improvement in handling. While Honda Australia are yet to acknowledge the model's existence, Koenigsegg boasts to have "Proven that you can actually implement supreme racing technology into road cars. The NSX has always been an exceptional sports car, but the new NSX-R is a world beater. Those who underestimate it will look like fools."
