Bruce Newton•17 Jan 2013
NEWS
DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: Honda homes in on next NSX
Latest Acura NSX concept an accurate indication of 2015 production supercarHonda used this week’s Detroit motor show to reveal the second iteration of its Acura NSX concept car, providing a more accurate preview of the production model due for global release in 2015.
The first new-generation NSX concept appeared at last year’s Detroit show and Acura chief designer John Ikeda told motoring.com.au the latest concept – the interior of which was also revealed for the first time – is more indicative of the showroom model expected to debut at the 2015 Detroit show.
“Last year’s concept was a dream target or image if you will, but you’ve got a lot more going on with this one because now you got the inside of the car in there and you are able to sit in it and look at the packaging a lot more severely than on a piece of paper,” he said.
“We are really looking at all the different angles – pillar thicknesses, view, visibility, all of this is coming into play to create a more real car. All of that is affecting the vehicle and we like the shape of the vehicle and we want to enhance that.”
However, Ikeda-san cautioned that the 2015 NSX will not be identical to the Detroit concept.
“To say it will be exactly like [the concept] when it comes out two years from now... I would be hesitant to say that.
“The target car was last year. We're evolving it and we still feel very strongly about the direction that we're going – and [the new concept] is part of the progression of what we are trying to achieve.”
Acura’s second NSX concept in as many years is slightly, larger, lower and sleeker and features a clean, modern “Simple Sports Interface”-themed interpretation of the original NSX’s cascading dashboard, complete with pronounced carbon-fibre struts linking it to the centre console.
The next NSX will be powered by a mid-mounted V6 petrol engine and electric motor driving the rear wheels via a dual-clutch transmission, with twin electric motors driving the front wheels, forming a new SPORT HYBRID Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system.
“It is a supercar that we're trying to build, so it has to drive – it has to perform,” said Mr Ikeda, who could not reveal the next step in the new NSX’s introduction strategy.
However, the Acura design chief indicated the 2013 Detroit show car would be the last to appear before the production model.
“I don’t know what the plan is. I don’t think we want to keep showing too many things over and over and over. One of the key reasons to bringing it out this year was so that people knew we were serious, that there is an interior and people could get in this thing and take it to the next level. Last year was ‘we have a journey’.”
Honda and its Acura luxury brand are yet to officially confirm whether the successor to the original 1990s NSX supercar will be produced in both left- and right-hand drive configurations for markets around the world including Australia, but Mr Ikeda indicated it would.
“I'm sure it will be sold in right-hand drive markets,” he said. “It's a global car – that's what we're trying to do, so yes I'm sure there will be a right-hand drive version of that vehicle.
In a radical departure from Honda tradition, the second-generation NSX will be developed and built in the US, via a global R&D team including designers and engineers in Los Angeles and Ohio, and a new production facility in central Ohio.
More news and coverage of the 2013 Detroit Motor Show
Full photo gallery of 2013 Detroit Motor Show at motoring.com.au
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Written byBruce Newton
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