So I'm currently doing an assignment for school and have chosen to do it on the NSX. I need to write a proposal of some sort to persuade honda to redesign the NSX.

Now I know that the NSX will either be discontinued or redesigned but that matters not for my project. I'm writing this as if I'm already a part of Honda Corp.

This is a writing class. So I can pretty much make up what I want.

So here's where you guys come in. This might be fun for you as well.
Come up with things that the new NSX should have so that it is competitive in today's market.

My first thing would be for a face lift. And then a new engine. Would the engine in the current RL be more powerful than what is in the NSX? Of course, SH-AWD would have to be added.

Let me know of some ideas!

 

If you want to sound like a Honda insider maybe you should consider the cars following (although small). Compare it to when Toyota got rid of it's flagship sportscar (Supra) and how they are now scrambling to make a new one to please it's consumers.

This car is our test bed for performance for our coupes and sedans, blah, blah, blah

 

Are you approaching from a technical point of view, or from a corporate/market point of view?

Corporate/market --

Every car company needs to have a halo car, a rolling showcase of their most advanced technology combined with the latest safety and luxury features. Corvette, XLR, Ford GT, DCX ME412 (TBD), McLaren/Mercedes SLR, etc, etc.. the list goes on and on. NSX is certainly no exception. NSX is the showcase of Honda's racing technology combined with reliability and luxury.

But it's well over a decade old now. It had some minor facelifts here and there, but it's time to retire the current generation and come out with a new one. However, over the course of the production, the NSX line has suffered a loss of 800 million dollars. Combine that with Takeo Fukui (CEO of Honda) wanted to concentrate on the R&D of the Ridgeline (Honda's first ever attempt in the truck segment) and that didn't leave much room for the next generation NSX. In fact, Takeo axed the NSX project a while back, but it has been brought back... like I said, every car company needs a halo car, especially a company like Honda whose backbone lies on engineering and racing.



Technical --

The next generation NSX is rumored to have a V8. Honda is currently developing a 4.x liter (displacement not yet final) V8 which will first see duty in the next generation RL, then the next generation Ridgeline. This engine could certain be modified to run in the NSX and in today's market which has seen increasingly higher numbers in the supercar/exotic category, a 290-hp V6 certainly seems a bit outpowered by the competition. The ideal setup would be a V8 fit for NSX duty pumping out somewhere in the neighborhood of 350-400 hp; the NSX has held an advantage over the competition with its lightweight chassis, so it won't have to try to outpower the competition necessarily... a near match, or below par would still suffice in terms of resulting performance. Even the current generation NSX with 290 hp is still capable of out-performing 400-500 hp sports cars on the track.


I think you could probably come up with something based on that... hope that helped.

 

Thanks for the info guys.

Just out of curiousity. I thought Honda was firm on never producing a V8 for any of its passenger cars. I thought that Takeo Fukui said that a V6 could do anything a V8 could do with more efficiency.

In any case.

More suggestions are encouraged.

Maybe an i-vtec engine can be made of the 3.5 liter in the RL? Mated with a 6 speed transmission with SH-AWD. That would be bad ass.

Or maybe you are right. Maybe it is time Honda woke up and created a super efficient V8.

 

Actually the NSX's replacement (unnamed yet) will have a V-10, this is confirmed info straight from Honda. In addition, it will use the next generation of VTEC

 

If you really want to get the inside track on the current NSX and it's replacement, go to NSXPrime -> Second Generation NSX / HSC Discussion

 

Oops, I forgot about that. Thanks for the correction.

I remember reading about what Takeo said about the V10... something along the lines of how the F1 cars will be running V8's by the time the new NSX comes out with the V10.