Upgraded Honda NSX here early 2019

Honda Australia will open the order book for the upgraded 2019 Honda NSX on September 1, ahead of first deliveries from the first quarter of next year.

Revealed at Monterey Car Week this week, the MY19 Honda NSX – known in other markets as the Acura NSX – will remain priced at $420,000 plus on-road costs.

This is despite a series of chassis, software, colour and trim upgrades over the second-generation Honda NSX, which found more than 1900 homes across the 2017 and 2018 model years.

Of those almost 1000 were sold in the US, where the Honda NSX is produced, and just seven came Down Under, where Honda Australia owns two second-generation NSXs – a registered press/marketing vehicle and a non-saleable ‘market evaluation’ vehicle – and the first customer car was delivered in December 2016.

Since then Honda Australia has sold and delivered five more production NSXs (although one is yet to be registered and may not be), exhausting its initial allocation and ensuring the Japanese supercar remains one of the most exclusive models on the road.

A similar number of MY19 NSXs is expected to arrive here from early next year and although Honda won’t say how many orders it expects, the company’s Australia director Stephen Collins said demand exceeded supply.

“We could have sold another one or two [MY17/18 NSXs], but that was about our allocation,” he said.

Of the eight exterior paint colours to be available, new for 2019 is a fresh Thermal Orange option (pictured), which Honda says pays homage to 30 years of Acura race cars with orange-accented liveries.

Matching orange callipers for the optional carbon ceramic metallic (CCM) brakes and red callipers for the standard iron brakes are also now available.

Along with Casino White pearlescent, Thermal Orange pearlescent paint will cost $1500, as will Source Silver metallic, while two special aerospace-developed Andaro nanoparticle pearlescent finishes – Nouvelle Blue Pearl and Valencia Red Pearl – will cost a handsome $10,000.

Three solid paint colours – Berlina Black, Curva Red and 130R White (named after the famous corner at Suzuka) will attract no extra cost.

Other cosmetic updates for 2019 include a body-colour front grille garnish (previously silver) and high-gloss finishes for the grille surround, air intake mesh and rear bumper mesh.

The carbon-fibre exterior package now features a high-gloss finish for the front lip spoiler, side skirts, rear diffuser and rear spoiler.

Inside, Indigo Blue semi-aniline leather and Alcantara trim (pictured above) is now among the five interior treatments available for 2019.

Mechanically, Honda says its engineers have modified the NSX chassis and software to make it stiffer and more responsive.

Chassis enhancements include larger front and rear anti-roll bars bars (26 per cent stiffer up front, 19 per cent at the rear) and 21 per cent stiffer rear toe link bushings. Rear hub rigidity has increased six per cent.

Honda says software calibrations to the NSX's Sport Hybrid SH-AWD® power unit, active magnetorheological dampers, electric power steering and VSA settings capitalise on this new hardware.

Meantime, new Continental SportContact 6 tyres have been specifically developed for the hybrid supercar, incorporating a revised tread pattern, construction and rubber compound to deliver "improved handling performance in all conditions".

"At the limit, the NSX's balance, playfulness and controllability has improved, allowing the driver to more precisely modulate understeer and oversteer with subtle throttle inputs," said Honda USA. "The changes resulted in a nearly 2-second faster lap time in testing around the world famous Suzuka Circuit."

There are no changes to the Honda NSX’s 373kW/550Nm 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 or its three electric motors, which combine to deliver a total of 427kW/646Nm via a nine-speed dual-clutch transmission and Honda's Sport Hybrid all-wheel drive system.

Acura continues to sell GT3-spec NSX racers to motorsport customers, but there’s no sign yet of the hotly anticipated NSX Type R, let alone a third-generation NSX potentially powered by an all-electric four-motor powertrain like that seen in the Acura EV Concept created for the famous Pikes Peak Hillclimb.

It produced an incredible combined total of 746kW (about 1000hp) and was claimed to hit 100km/h in 2.5 seconds on its way to 200km/h in less than 6.2 seconds.