DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: Honda NSX Concept to debut at NAIAS

We got the first clues via the black roadster that stars alongside Robert Downey Jr in

For the time being, the company is saying nothing more about the new-age NSX – which comes seven years after the previous generation (pictured) was discontinued – and it hasn’t adopted the now-standard ploy of releasing one or more teaser pics of the design study.

The NSX will be one of three debutants Acura will roll out at Detroit’s Cobo Centre – the other two being a redesigned RDX soft-duty SUV and an ILX Concept that’s billed as a styling study of an all-new luxury compact sedan scheduled for launch (in the US) in mid-2012.

The ILX will be positioned as the entry-level model in Acura’s range and will feature the brand’s first hybrid powertrain.

Of course, we’re more interested in the NSX Concept, which, in the company’s words: “represents the styling direction for the next generation of Acura’s super sports car”.

As we previously reported, the new NSX will focus more on a strong power-to-weight ratio than masses of outright grunt – along the lines of the original NSX’s recipe, which endured from 1990 to 2005.

The new-gen sportster is expected to retain a mid-mounted V6 – displacing 3.5 or 3.7 litres – driving the rear wheels, but each of the front wheels reportedly features a hub-mounted electric motor.

According to the company’s top brass, the new NSX (expected to launch in 2013) will be pitched as a far more affordable proposition than the megabuck Lexus LFA, joining the fray against the likes of the Audi R8 and Porsche 911.

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