Be still my beating heart, it seems that the new NSX is real, production-ready, and it will be on sale in a little over a year. After what seems like decades of rumors, prototypes and speculation WhatCar? has confirmation of new performance stats, pricing brackets, efficiency targets and a launch timeframe. The benchmarks they are aiming for include names like Porsche 911, Audi R8 and Ferrari 458. They are aiming high with this one.

For performance the article quotes Ted Klaus, the head of NSX development as saying, “We have to achieve the type of acceleration that the customer is achieving with the ->https://www.topspeed.com/cars/ferrari-458/ke3479.html]. More importantly we have to achieve this every day and also at the Nurburgring.” That is some stout speed and handling coming from Honda’s hybrid powertrain. Because it’s a hybrid, Honda is also aiming to have the new NSX at the top of class when it comes to efficiency. Klaus stated that, “The 911->ke282 is the most efficient performance car today and we will be well clear of that.”

So that is two main rivals being shown up by the NSX, but what of the Audi R8->ke1440? Klaus says the R8 is being targeted as the price benchmark. Considering it is the cheapest of the mid-engined supercars, Honda is aiming for a cheap machine. When Nissan came out with the R35 GT-R they proved that you could make an insanely fast supercar for cheap. It looks like Honda is going to try the same trick.

As a final piece of news, our source here claims that the production NSX will debut next year at the Tokyo Motor Show with sales commencing early in 2016.

I can’t wait.

Click past the jump to read more about the 2016 Acura NSX.

Why It Matters

The NSX was one of the greatest affordable supercars that was ever created, and easily one of the greatest machines to come from any Japanese automaker. The car featured tuning input from the legendary Ayrton Senna, and once it was released, it proceeded to dominate all of its Italian rivals.

Honda killed the car in 2005 and left a large gap in the market, a gap that Nissan was happy to fill with the R35 GT-R. Honda has been sorely lacking in the performance department, and having this new NSX will help bring the company back to the forefront of the enthusiast market.

Acura NSX

The new Acura NSX is Honda's first foray into the supercar market since it killed the original NSX in 2005. It will be powered by a hybrid system that uses a 3.5-liter V6 and a collection of batteries and electric motors to produce more than 450 horsepower. That power will be sent to all four wheels via a new SH-AWD system that was developed for the car.