Like most Acura models the NSX was also sold as a Honda NSX outside of the U.S. and gets its name from being the automaker’s New Sportscar eXperimental prototype. When it was introduced in 1990, the Acura NSX was the first car to feature an all aluminum chassis and introduced the U.S. to VTEC with its high revving 270 HP 3.0 Liter V6 engine before increasing displacement to 3.2 Liters for an additional 20 HP gain. In 2002 the NSX received a facelift and despite the new appearance, much of the NSX remained the same underneath until the vehicle was discontinued in 2005. Despite the modest power and somewhat dated technology, due to the NSX’s low coefficient of drag and lightweight construction, the Japanese sports car was able to compete with some of the most exotic Italian super cars of its day.
Think you were crushed by the cancelation of the 2010 Acura NSX, imagine how Honda supertuner Mugen must feel. But unlike the rest of us who are pouting about how we’ll have to settle for the Nissan GT-R, Mugen looking to the past to show that the old dog still has a few tricks left.
At the Tokyo Auto Salon is the Honda (Acura) NSX Mugen RR, a concept car inspired by the old NSX. All we know is that this is a very cool body kit with a red interior and red brake calipers.
Mugen is being very tight lipped about the performance specifications. We can’t even confirm that there is an engine in this car. So, if the NSX Mugen RR can run under its own power, we doubt its anything more than the 3.2-liter V6 making 290 hp.
Looks like the executives over at Honda caught a showing of Weekend at Bernie’s over the holiday break and got an idea. Just because the Acura NSX is dead, doesn’t mean they can’t show it off.
There was already a NSX concept car ready for January’s Detroit Auto Show before the project was indefinitely idled, so Honda doesn’t want to waste it. The concept car won’t mean that there is an Acura supercar bound for the U.S. The NSX will be there just to fill space.
From a business standpoint it’s easy to understand that Honda is just trying to get its money’s worth; but from an enthusiast’s standpoint, showing the concept is like Honda is taking us to the strip club. Honda’s New Year’s gift to North America is the ultimate ‘you can look but never touch’ set-up.
RIP NSX. Honda announced today that the NSX program is dead. Honda CEO Takeo Fukui announced the move in a speech that all development of the car would be canceled. It seems that the company has changed its previous statement. Back in October he told Autocar that, "the new supercar is necessary for Honda". Honda will now focus its efforts on (gasp) hybrid cars.
This is a bad time for car enthusiasts, but we kinda knew this was coming. Halo cars are fun, but in times of deep economic troubles, retrenchment strategies are aplenty and come quick. The first to go are the low-volume fun cars. The NSX was not the first to be chopped, and it won’t be the last (now taking odds on the Lexus LFA.)
If there is any hope to come from this news is that we all know how efficient Honda is. We’ve seen the development cars for the NSX, which means that Honda has a large engineering and financial investment in the V10 sports car. So we can all hope (fingers crossed) that when the world economy recovers, Honda will be quick to use a lot of the technology developed in this NSX program to quickly bring a supercar to the market.
What can you do with a little talent and a spy photo? A pretty cool rendering of a future NSX Super GT. Designer Jon Sibal took a spy picture of the future Acura NSX and did what plenty of rich fanboys are likely to do with their next NSX. He added a widebody kit and racing paint to make a full blown NSX GT racecar.
His description of the process of going from spy shot to race car rendering makes it sound kinda simple, but we’re not going to try it anytime soon.
When the Acura NSX (known as the Honda NSX outside of North America) first arrived in 1990, it’s high revving V6 and razor sharp handling made it the surprise darling of the automotive press. Unfortunately by the time it finally died out fifteen years later, the industry had surpassed it. But Honda was not done with the NSX. Just like the Nissan’s GT-R, Honda has spend the the last few years meticulously developing a killer car.
We haven’t even seen a clear spy shot of the NSX in over a month, but today AutoExpress took one of the car’s better renderings and turned into a cutaway view of the future Acura supercar.
Under the hood there will be a 5.5-liter V10 delivering 560bhp. The engine will be mated to a six-speed semi-auto box, with steering wheel-mounted paddleshifters. The 0 to 60 mph sprint will be made in less than four seconds, while top speed will go up to 200 mph.
The NSX will go on sale later next year at a price of $150,000 (est.).
