KillerG

I dont see them really having the ability to push the material development envelope and they wont be able to make the first reliable supercar (...again).

...so... well... what if the performance ends up on par with the 458 and the MP4?

Then would it be worthy of the moniker?

Yumcha

Sure. But, as they say...you gotta pay if you wanna play. Show me a tank-like exotic...I know of none. They are all pretty much fragile cars which need constant tuning and maintenance.

The original NSX was one of the FIRST to be the best of both worlds...




And if this new NSX can be on par with the Ferrari 458, I'll be giggling for years.

Costco

Consider the hybrid powertrain too. Dunno exactly how Acura will go about it but not only will it result in better performance in a straight line and in the corners, but potentially better MPG as well.

what's the fuel economy like on a 458? Or any Ferrari for that matter?

ttribe

Seriously? If I was buying a Ferrari I wouldn't think twice about the mpg. I'm not sure I would even think once about it.

Ken1997TL

I drive an S2000. Now, granted I get decent mileage (as high as 31 mpg) but if you're buying a sports car, not to mention a six figure exotic, you honestly don't care about fuel economy. It's ALL about the looks and the feel.

Costco

well, duh

My point is that it is something that Acura may try and crown as a selling or bragging point. At the very least, it might just be another noteworthy thing in an exotic landscape which many other manufacturers are encroaching on. The six figure market once dominated by the big three (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche) have stiff competition these days (Audi, AM, Maserati, Lexus, Chevrolet, Nissan, etc.)

What is Acura doing to make their car stand out and why are they putting in a hybrid drivetrain in their supercar when nobody else is?

Gordon Murray himself was inspired by the day-to-day drivability of the original NSX and designed the McLaren F1 with the same goals in mind. I can say with confidence that most people don't daily drive their Ferraris. Except maybe Rick.

ttribe

Uhh, Porsche 918? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_918

IIRC, I believe the new Enzo replacement is supposed to have a hybrid system as well.

The NSX doesn't make much of a splash compared to those two.

Costco

totally forgot about the 918. One of my favorite looking Porsches too...

The NSX looked great at the car show, if that means anything. Quite a few people were interested in it. But not as much as the LF-A...

srika

As it shouldn't - the other two are $850k and $1m+ vehicles - what is the NSX going to cost? A tenth of that? Indeed, the mere fact that those other cars were even brought up in here tells me the NSX has some serious tech bang for the buck!

ttribe

I see your point, but I was mostly addressing the "supercar" argument.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

My dream car since I was 10 yr old has always been the 1g NSX. So I know exactly what kind of car it is

Gordon Murray used the NSX as the template/target for the McLaren F1. He didn't use Ferrari, porsche, Lambo. What more has to be said about the NSX?

The car was tested by Senna and tuned with his advice.

The NSX actually caused companies like Ferrari and Porsche to get back to the drawing board and come up with MUCH better cars. Despite how popular they were back then, they were not that easy to live with and stuff.

The same can't be said regarding the latest Ferraris and Porsches. They are much better now, they have learnt the lesson from the NSX.

What can Honda make/design that will get others thinking hard again? Making something that is super fast on a track without costing over $100k? Well, that has always been the design goal of the GT-R since the 1980's with the R32 GT-R. That thing was just as fast, if not faster than the NSX, while costing much less. The newest GTR is the same. The NSX surely should not follow that route.

This is where the 2g NSX comes in. It doesn't have to be the fastest, it doesn't have to have the best performance to dollar ratio. What it should deliver is innovative ideas and technologies that are new and meaningful. The 1st gen NSX introduced things like titanium conrods, aluminum body and chassis, excellent reliability, user-friendly driving manners, etc. The 2g NSX on the other hand brings in things like torque vectoring using electric motors and excellent fuel efficiency for a super car.


I see it differently though....that's what the NSX should stand for partly. How often do you see a 400-500hp supercar getting 30mpg combined? That's probably something the new NSX owner can brag about? "My NSX does 0-60mph in 3's, 1/4 mile in the 11's, lap the ring as fast as the GTR, but gets 30mpg combined."

Obviously those are random numbers as they are used to convey my point.

srika

This NSX will be a supercar in it's own right, but no, it won't be anywhere near the most extravagant vehicles Porsche and Ferrari have ever made.

Moog-Type-S

So it will be like the R8 then.

Perhaps that's why it looks like it.

Ken1997TL

And remember, Soichiro Honda was still alive and very involved with the company at this point. He being a lot like Steve Jobs (a visionary and a REAL pusher of people) made things happen and loved to outdo the competition, even if it meant losing money.

Ken1997TL

Personally, I agree. And Honda of course, will be promoting just that. But the market over all, will judge it on its actual supercar characteristics. Styling and performance > *.

HDNBenjamin

I am Definitely loving the new NSX concept! It is elegant, modern, exotic, all wrapped in a sporty package. I hope it will arrive soon!

Rick_TL-S

How do we know this when the performance figures have been tight-lipped?
Again, we haven't seen how this car has performed. How is it unfortunate?
Again, proof of this? We haven't even been told the power figures or seen what this car can do on the track.

The only thing we seem to really know is that it will have a system similar to the 918 Spyder, yet everyone seems to absolutely love that car.

The NSX actually outperformed the 348 which is where Enzo became upset because his car had just debuted.

But, let's be honest. Ferrari had gotten lazy with his production cars when he was busy with the GTO & F40.

Um, the F430 & Gallardo have become extremely reliable cars & I imagine the 458 has followed suit. Simon George has 250,000+ miles on his 2004 Murcielago, half of which are track miles. It's had a couple issues, but the engine is still original & it fires up every time. As such, there are several Ferraris pushing this mileage as well (190,000 on a 512TR, 200,000 on a 355, & a local 308 owner has 107,000+ on his with just regular maintenance).

While this isn't normal usage, it does happen more often than not. The only catch is as you said; you have to pay to play.

As far as the new NSX goes, I believe this car will go far. If it gives any hope, Takanobu Ito is in charge of this new NSX & was also in charge of the original NSX. If anyone knows how this car should be developed as a successor to the first NSX, it should be the man who looked over the NSX's original development.

Fibonacci

I didn't realize Ito had moved to Ohio!

Talk about a car company that was lost, but hopefully now has been found. Just think of the time, money and engineering resources that Honda has frittered away on money losing projects like Asimo and Hondajet.

Let's get back to your core strengths please: building fun, great handling, fuel efficient and relatively inexpensive cars that rise above appliances.

Belzebutt

I see the reliability in recent F1 cars is now trickling down to the road cars.

fsttyms1

This thing will lap the ring every bit as fast as the GTR Just sayin...

Yumcha

I hope the performance of this car is good and jaw-dropping. Really, really do. We need it. HONDA needs it.

phile

I hope so too, and MPG (which I am aware no one cares for in this price range) to boot.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

You do realize the original nsx and the s2000 lost honda/acura money. They cost more to produce then they sold for. Great cars but not money makers.

Would be stupid for them to do that again. The way for honda/acura to make money is suv's and sedans. Most ppl are too concerned about the badge and won't buy an expensive honda. Same issue with the Lexus lfa. It wasn't done for profit. It was done for product development and to show the public the Japanese can build supercars.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

It's about time for Honda/Acura to show the world they can build super cars again IMO.

Moog-Type-S

I'm waiting for Honda/Acura to get around to building great looking performing non-super cars again.

...but that might be asking for too much.

Edward'TLS

..... only if this NSX concept can really make it this time into the Acura show rooms.

AlterZgo

I like the look of the new NSX. It is not as impressive as the 1991 NSX in 1990, but it is a very competent design considering how boring Honda/Acura design has been the past decade. It is certainly MUCH better looking and more cohesive than the Lexus LFA which, to my eyes, is a total train wreck.

As for whether its impact could be as great? Well, let's wait for performance figures. If it can beat a Ferrari Italia's 0-60 and 1/4 mile times of low 3s and low 11s, and outhandle it like how the original NSX bitch slapped the Ferrari 328, then it will be impressive indeed. If it is merely as fast as a V10 Audi R8, then that would be just OK. If it has V10 R8 performance and nets 40 mpg, THEN that would pretty flipping impressive.

Too bad Ayrton Senna is no longer alive to test drive and give his advice on final suspension calibrations.

Rick_TL-S

The LFA has more to do with the fact that it took nine years of R&D and lapping the Nurburgring continuously. Of course they weren't going to make any money on it when they stuck a fat $400,000 sticker on it afterwards.

But, if this car follows in the path of the GT-R, it will sell & it will make money. Who the fuck ever thought of buying a $70,000 Nissan back in 2001, 2005, & 2007 when the car was finally confirmed for production? Hell, they even sell a $160,000 Spec-V model of it.

If people will spend $160,000 for a Nissan, they will spend $120,000+/- for the NSX, as long as it performs as intended.

MTEAZY

Riiight.. how many Acuras have ever fit that definition for you

phile

Dude give it up already.

MTEAZY

Give what up? It doesn't matter whether or not the NSX beats the latest Ferrari. On most tracks the 2012 GTR is equal or faster than the 458 and no one cares.

Fibonacci

Yes, I do realize they were halo cars for their respective brands and not money makers, but they also built tremendous brand equity and goodwill.


I respectfully disagree, you can make money off of your bread and butter line-up, but you still need halo cars to trickle down tech to your mainstream line-up.

Race on Sunday, sell on Monday

Legend2TL

FWIW, in a Wall Street Journal article years ago. The 1G NSX lost money but the S2000 was profitable.

Legend2TL

qft +1

biker

Asimo maybe, but it is very likely the HondaJet adventure will eventually make money.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Why would anyone buy this over the new c7 corvette. Corvette is best looking car ever made, fastest car made, has best interior made, and gets girls wetter and hornier than any other car. The vette is perfect whereas when I see this silly overpriced honda I just laugh. If it is a hybrid it is not a true supercar. Only reason you'd buy this is if you are a stupid anti-American a-hole.

ttribe

I'm curious, do you ever post something of substance at this point, or is trolling your pass-time on here? Having been on this board since 2003, I can't imagine you've always been this way,.

Belzebutt

Come on, I think between this and the killing spree posts there's a good chance he's joking.

ttribe

Not the pattern I've been seeing.

Costco

obvious troll is obvious