Swansong Honda NSX Type S revealed

The exotic mid-engined Honda NSX has just got wider, lighter, faster and more powerful – and also even more exclusive – thanks to this Type S final edition.

Revealed overnight in California, the 2022 Acura NSX Type S – as it’s called in the US – will be limited to just 350 units globally and none of them will come to Australia, where just 10 examples of the reborn $420,000 NSX arrived between 2016 and 2019.

But Japan’s only mid-engined (and only hybrid) supercar will go out with a bang elsewhere in the world by the end of 2022 thanks to the fitment of bigger turbochargers from the NSX GT3 Evo racer.

Priced from $US169,500 ($A$230,000) in the US, the Type S celebrates the final year of NSX production by boosting the combined power outputs of its three-motor/twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 hybrid powertrain from 427kW to 447kW, or a cool 600hp in the old money, and from 646Nm to 667Nm.

New fuel-injectors and upgraded intercoolers are also part of the package, as is a 20 per cent increase in hybrid battery capacity.

The nine-speed dual-clutch gearbox has also been significantly enhanced. Honda says upshifts are now 50 per cent quicker and the fitment of a rapid downshift mode that allows several gears to be skipped by holding one of the steering wheel paddles down should also give it more venom on road and track.

New forged five-spoke alloy wheels – 19-inch front and 20-inch rear – effectively widen the car’s track by 10mm at the front and 20mm at the rear, improving the supercar’s handling band giving it “an especially aggressive stance”, says Acura.

The Pirelli P Zero tyres measure 245/35 ZR19 at the front and 305/30 ZR20 at the rear.

Most of the 350 Acura NSX Type S vehicles built are expected to be specified with a tasty lightweight package that sheds 26kg via the fitment of carbon-ceramic brakes, a carbon-fibre engine cover and carbon interior elements.

Visually, there are a few changes for the hard-core NSX Type S, including a more aggressively designed front-end with a larger grille that’s claimed to improve air flow. There are plenty of carbon-fibre bits too, including a front lip spoiler, side skirts, rear wing and even the roof.

An exclusive new Gotham Gray matte paint for 70 examples of the Type S will no doubt make these the most sought-after models.

The first-generation Honda NSX made its debut over 30 years ago in 1990 and ended production in 2005. The current model will have a much shorter life ofjust seven years.

Honda Australia entered a brave new world last month with a fixed-price agency sales strategy and a heavily condensed model portfolio, and has already waved goodbye to its NSX and Civic Type R hero models.

While it remains unclear whether Honda will produce a third-generation NSX, there’s been talk of an all-electric ‘baby NSX’ and a born-again S2000, but nothing has been officially confirmed and – for now – the HR-V, CR-V and Civic hatch will remain the Japanese brand’s three core models Down Under.