Even though most of the glory expected by the 2016 NSX was stolen by the bonkers-looking Ford GT concept car in Detroit, it seems that Acura/->ke10Honda->ke34 is only getting started in this segment, as an even more powerful and lighter NSX Type R model is already in the works. Of course, its actual horsepower and weight are still a bit of a mystery, as the only official numbers regarding the NSX's powerplant mention "over 550 horsepower." With that being said, a future NSX Type R should probably get more than 600 horsepower, along with a major reduction in weight.

Most of the information above comes straight from Ted Klaus, the chief engineer for the new Acura NSX, who confirmed it during an interview with Auto Express during the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Considering that the first-generation NSX saw a Type R variant some two years after its official unveil, the earliest we could see a version of the new one would probably be 2017. Nevertheless, the simple fact that the carmaker is considering something even more hardcore and maybe even track-ready is enough to make us get all hopped up.

Naturally, pretty much every detail concerning the new NSX-R can only be regarded as speculation right now, but there should be plenty of different features on the model to make it worthy of the red "R" nameplate. The original NSX Type R didn't even have an audio or air-conditioning system, thus dropping quite a lot of weight compared to the already-light NSX, so a drastic weight loss should also be expected from the future model, along with redesigned suspension kinematics and even more horsepower.

Click past the jump to read more about the Acura NSX-R.

Why it matters

While not coming exactly as a surprise, the word that a new NSX-R is already in the works can mean nothing but good news for performance cars enthusiasts, especially since everyone is a little bit tired of the Nissan GT-R and its Nismo variant stealing all the glory when it comes to Japanese supercars.

On top of it, despite being essentially a Japanese car as well, the NSX was largely developed and will be built in America, which means that we may catch camouflaged NSX Type R pre-production prototypes on U.S. soil, somewhat alleviating our wait until 2017. The only major unknown left is how will the model compare with other future supercars, as the ultra-high-performance segment is soon to be crowed with the likes of the Nissan GT-R R36, the new Ford GT and the Ferrari 458M. Some pretty awesome years in terms of insanely-fast cars are awaiting us.

Acura NSX