The 2016 Honda NSX (known as the Acura NSX in the U.S.) is so desired that people are willing to place orders for it despite the fact that the production model has yet to make its public appearance. That's the case in the UK where British customers have scooped up the hybrid sports car’s->ke506 entire first-year allocation, forcing Honda->ke34 to close the order books as it waits for the car to make its long-awaited public debut at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show.->ke222 The news was first reported by British auto magazine Car.
You would think that we’d be surprised by this, but the truth is we’re not. Honda only asked for a £5,000 ($7,800 as of 12/1/2014) deposit to secure a reservation for one of the 100 models that were made available. That's a rather small amount of money to put down for this type of car despite how unsettling it may be not knowing the final price or specifications. That's a risk 100 UK buyers have taken for the chance to get first dibs on the NSX, which isn't expected to arrive until 2016.
If you got left empty handed on the NSX, Honda’s UK dealers have a pretty sweet alternative for you in the form of the 2015 Honda Civic Type-R. Order books for the hot hatch have just opened with potential buyers required to place a deposit of just £3,000 ($4,700) to secure a piece of the first wave of models scheduled to hit dealerships in August or September 2015. Sure, it doesn’t come with as much hype and fanfare as the NSX, but the turbo-packing Type-R is still a heck of a consolation prize, if you can even call it that.
Click past the jump to read more about Honda NSX.
Why it matters
The enormous fascination with the Honda NSX is a big deal for Honda as the company continues to regain some traction after seeing its sales volume become stagnate in recent years for one reason or another. The fact that buyers are willing to pay deposits for a production model they haven’t seen yet speaks to the level of interest the public has in the hybrid->ke147 sports car. It remains to be seen if the car can live up to the hype, but as far as being the model that shifts interest back to Honda, the NSX has accomplished that already. At the very least, the car could lead Honda’s resurgence in 2015, headlining a list of new models that also includes the Civic Type-R and the HR-V crossover.
The hype and demand for the NSX are already there. Now it’s on Honda to deliver a hybrid sports car that not only lives up to its own press clippings, but leads a new generation of Honda performance vehicles in the coming years.
The stage is set for the Honda NSX. Let’s see if it can validate Honda’s decision to bring the iconic name back from the dead.
2016 Honda NSX
The Honda NSX was released in 1991 as a sports car that shook the entire industry to its core. At that time, the NSX was created to go toe-to-toe with Ferrari and while it enjoyed a run that lasted until 2005, the NSX was eventually scrapped because of slow sales.
Fast forward to 2014 and the revival of the NSX is now in full swing. Honda actually confirmed the return of the NSX at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show->ke235 and since then, the car has undergone an intense testing and development in anticipation of its long-awaited debut at the 2015 NAIAS.
Numerous spy shots of the NSX doing test runs on the Nurburgring->ke999 have been captured, including an unfortunate incident back in July 2014 when a prototype burned to the ground. Despite the setback, development of the hybrid sports car continues to roll along, further adding credence to the belief that the car is drawing closer and closer to its world debut.
Last we heard, the NSX will be powered by a hybrid powertrain made up of a mid-mounted, direct-injected, V-6 engine and Acura ’s Sport Hybrid SH-AWD system. Together, the system is believed to have the capability to produce over 400 horsepower, allowing the hybrid sports car to sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just four seconds.
Production of the Honda NSX is scheduled to begin shortly after its 2015 debut at Honda’s 184,000-square-foot Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio.