UK pricing for NSX points to $400K opener

Pricing announced for Honda NSX’s first right-hand drive market is pointing to a $400,000 price tag Down Under.

Honda UK announced yesterday (July 5) a starting price for the new Honda NSX hybrid supercar of £137,950. This is $14,000 higher than expected, said UK outlet autocar.co.uk.

In the UK marketplace, that price compares to £119,500 for the standard version of Audi’s new R8 and only barely undercuts the UK-built McLaren 570S which costs £143,250 in its home market. By way of comparison, Audi’s entry-level R8 is circa $335,000 here, while the 570S is around $430,000.

Honda Australia remains tight lipped on the price of the hybrid NSX but it now seems almost certain the car will top $400,000 when it eventually arrives in local Honda showrooms.

Company exec, Stephen Collins said in May (2016) that it would announce pricing this month (July).

“The plan is by July, but I’m hoping June we’ll have something very firm and then we can go out with pre-order type situations,” Collins told motoring.com.au.

As of today, however, the local price tag is still a work in progress.

Group Public Relations Manager Neil McDonald told motoring.com.au that the company is yet to finalise local pricing.

“There’s a lot of work involved currently with Honda in Japan. Hopefully we’ll be able to announce something later this month,” he stated.

Honda is claiming a number of innovations for its “21st century human-centred supercar”. Top of the list is the NSX’s Sport Hybrid Super Handling All Wheel Drive (Sport Hybrid SHAWD) chassis concept that Honda claims is the first “to utilise electric motor torque in combination with engine power, to enhance every element of dynamic performance – acceleration, handling and braking”.

A combination of the NSX’s mid-mounted twin-turbo 3.5-litre petrol V6 and dual-clutch nine-speed transaxle-mounted and front-axle mounted triple electric motors provide a total output of around 435kW and 650Nm. This is enough, Honda says, to accelerate the NSX to a top speed of over 300km/h.

The NSX can be driven short distances in EV mode but is unashamedly performance focused. The electric motors deliver additional low-rpm response, in effect masking any inherent lag of the turbocharged powertrain.

A 0-100km/h sprint of 2.9sec has been claimed for the car which features a blended aluminium and ultra-high-strength steel spaceframe and a mix of carbon-fibre and SMC panels.

The Australian market place welcomed the first examples of the first-generation NSX in 1991. Honda Australia sold 280 in total, including the larger Targa T-top open model. Sales stopped in 2002. Peak local sales per year were the launch year with 99 cars sold.

Between 1990-2007, global NSX sales totalled around 18,700.