Two years after the concept bowed — and 25 years after the original — the production-ready 2016 Acura NSX has finally arrived [Live photos now available – CA].
Power for the hybrid exotic comes from a twin-turbo DOHC V6 paired with the three-motor Sport Hybrid system, two of which power the front axle while the third is located between the V6 and its nine-speed dual-clutch automatic, and aids in acceleration, braking and shifting. Alas, horsepower and torque were not mentioned at this time.
The body is composed of carbon fiber, ultra-high strength steel and aluminum, and is covered by panels made of aluminum and sheet molding composite.
Inside, the driver is greeted by Acura’s Human Support Cockpit, aimed at making driving easier while maintaining the performance expected out of the NSX. The system includes a dynamic TFT instrument cluster display, intuitive controls, and improved ergonomics.
Price of admission will be announced at a later date. Acura will begin accepting orders this summer, with deliveries to commence later this year. The NSX will be assembled by 100 employees at Honda’s Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio.
My kid and I have been bouncing ideas back and forth over what Honda might to do make this car awesome…or to screw it all up CR-Z style. Not enough info here to tell for sure, but it does sound promising.
Other sources report “multiple body styles”. I want the Avengers NSX convertible so badly it hurts. Do It Acura.
That’s a really great looking profile. Too bad about the nose though.
I dunno. I like it better than a GT-R and the nose beats anything Lexus is putting out.
Meh.
Just like the rest of modern Acura lineup; a mish-mash of uninspired, unoriginal, and worst of all, unnecessary styling cues.
Compare this too to Acura’s heyday, when everything was there for a specific & good reason, based on well thought- out engineering & design parameters, then executed perfectly.
The original NSX was like the good Acura, being restrained elegance and purposeful execution.
This thing looks closer to a Mitsubishi 300GT than anything Acura would have designed while still competent.
This. Acura looks like the styling was designed to go after the 16-year-old market.
It is a bit “blah” for its category.
The extra piece of black, side mirror patch at the base of the A-post is unfortunate.
I think the basic shape is appealing, if not original. It just has way too much horsey “surface excitement” detailing in the Japanese car tradition.
That’s a beautiful color of red (another Honda tradition, observed most recently with the auto show pre-production TLX: show it with a color more daring than the one you’re gonna sell to create more interest than the production car will). But this car would look a lot better in black, just to protect Honda from its own two-tone body-color-on-black diarrhea.
Well it already looks dated and like it’s had a mid cycle refresh, so maybe that will make it go up in value quicker?
It does kind of look circa 2009, and kind of like an R8.
And I like how this car is already found in GTAV, as the Jester.
Its like an R8 if the Koreans copied it.
I was thinking 2 gen ago Eclipse…
I like it. It seems like exactly what we were promised, and fits with current Acura design language pretty well. The side profile and the rear look great, but the front is a bit busy though it still works, especially in the head-on picture.
I do think the engine could use some visible wrinkle red valve covers a la the Type-Rs of old, especially since it has a window to show them off, but otherwise I’m a fan.
My only other worry is if those 2 tiny radiators/intercoolers are enough to actually provide cooling for a vehicle making 500+hp, but I’m sure Honda has that figured out.
Fire extinguisher is a $300 option.
Cameron, are NAIAS cars typically more colorful than vehicles typically sold? I’m curious if the pictures from your reporting indicate color is making a comeback after several years of grayscale.
For the most part; have to attract those eyeballs, after all.
I’m pretty sure the reason everyone comes here is to read your articles, Cameron.
I thought it was for the pretty pictures!
Pictures are nice, but ultimately they offer no substance.
I don’t see anything desirable about this design compared to the previous NSX. Looks like a lot of cue’s were taken from the R8. Meh. I’m sure it’ll be fun to drive though.
Looks damn sweet to me. Too bad Acura didn’t tease us with some of the NSX design notes in the TLX. Could’ve been a game-changer and a blaze of excitable word of mouth advertising.
Wonder if it’ll be priced similarly to the R8?
The original was a much better looking car. And of course there’s no stick now, you can’t be trusted to shift your own gears. What is such a car for if not for fun, the speed limit isn’t going to change? It would be nice to be allowed the privilege of doing your own shifting at least.
I believe they could engineer in virtual manual gears for the electric drive and if I am correct then it could be matched to a mechanical gearbox by the software, or even mechanically matched. Or operated manually in electric only mode.
I remember reading quite a while ago that in locomotives there is a variable step function between input to the generator and electric output to the many wheels. Notwithstanding maximum torque at zero RPM for an electric motor.
Your point about trust is correct.
The only part I don’t like are the Aston Martin tail lights.
Sounds like a formidable competitor for the new Ford GT.
While I’m glad that Acura is finally building something that should be exciting again, after 3+ years of teasing I just don’t care.
Will this be branded as a Honda NSX outside of North America or does Acura have its first and only unique model?
I’m loving the the ostensible footprint of this thing. It looks like it might not be any larger than a Gallardo or an R8.
Doesn’t really matter how well it drives or how much it costs, it’s going to have a hard time competing in the mid $100’s. Acura had a chance to buy themselves out of also-ran status 2-3 years ago with this car, but now it just looks kind of dated.
No matter what they did, they’d never please the purists #popupheadlamps.
I think Acura is about 5 years being past the desperate stage for a car like this. It’s almost too little too late. But, until they talk price, stats, and performance I won’t get too excited. There are a lot of great cars with status and history (good and bad) in this segment, we’ll see if Acura finally puts a sports car back on the road.
I don’t really like it, way too complex with none of the previous NSX’s elegance. Yea they just had 300hp, but that was “good enough” and you got a good platform that didn’t need electro-whiz tricks to handle.
I don’t mind the lack of an auto though, automatics have come a long way.
If anything this cars biggest issue is that it looks like an Audi from almost 10 years ago, I seriously don’t see Audi buyers shouting “I want my next car to be a cheap Asian knock-off with a V6!”.
The interiors just way too tacky, but then again I’ve loathed Honda interiors ever since I suffered a ’92 Accord.
I like the engine under glass. That’s the biggest issue with Porsche–you can’t see the engine.
I like it, and am interested in it much more than most of its competitors. Can’t afford one, but it’s at least doing some interesting things which the competition aren’t.
What I loved about the original NSX is that it still had Honda reliability for an exotic. You didn’t fret using it as a daily driver. Hoping this latest news is at least the real deal rather than Acura performing another version of blue-ball carus interruptus.
If the Nurbergring immolation of a test mule is any indication, this may lean closer to Ferrari reliability than Honda…
Let’s hope not.
Hey, if nothing else, it’ll surely lure the curious back into the dealerships.
The true definition of a Halo Car.
Possibly even more meh than the Ford GT.
Here at least I can excuse the V6 engine I can’t forgive in the Ford.
But again, this just doesn’t really seem to showcase anything wonderful from Honda. The original was just a brilliant car with somewhat tame parts. More than the sum blah blah. This to me screams look! We’re cool! Turbo! Hybrid! Everything in one!
Feel like it’s only missing the “Powered by Honda” stickers on it…
And I grew up driving Hondas and Acuras and still have a soft spot for them despite not owning a single one since 2005.
I like it. I also like that Acura is putting some of the Hybrid tech that the 918 and P1 use into a much more affordable package. Of course, the devil’s in the details and we’ll have to wait to learn more about the car and one of the mist important items-the price$$.
Will a “Stark 33” license plate be optional?
http://www.geekrest.com/2011/09/tony-stark-sports-custom-made-acura-vehicle-for-the-avengers/
As much as we love to bash the slightly mundane Japanese styling, I have a different perspective.
The original NSX debuted with Honda directly targeting the Ferrari 348. While almost everyone agrees that the NSX is superior in every way compared to the 348, park the two next to each other and the Fezza has much more presence and purity of form.
Same deal going on with this, compared with a 458. Italian cars have a styling purity that few manufacturers outside Italy have been able to match.
One thing I particularly like about this new NSX is the rear end’s lovely supercar length, implying a monster mid-mounted powertrain.
About the absent power and torque numbers; is there a recognized testing standard that supports those numbers for sports hybrids? Or, is everyone making up a number based on marketing needs?
Just not clear to me why I should care. The BMW i8 is a far more interesting car visually and far more practical as well. One glaring weakness is that the NSX assumes I care about gas mileage in a car costing north of $100K, but I don’t care about luggage space. At least the i8 has rear seats that can hold stuff. We are looking at R8 levels of practicality here (at best).
This is a poor successor to the orignal
Believe this has a trunk capable of carrying at least 1 set of golf clubs.
Anyone driving an NSX with golf clubs in the trunk should be mercilessly eliminated from existence.
And why is that? Can guys who like sports cars not also be guys who like golf? I’ll bet half the trips I take in my sports car are on the weekend, to/from various golf courses. Sports cars and golf are two great sunny-day weekend activities, seems a shame to not combine them out of some sort of strange angry prejudice.
I really tire of the idea that sports cars have to be completely impractical toys. Journalists are so used to this being the case that they often fail to take pics of the trunk or even comment on the luggage space. I shouldn’t have to use my other car to go shopping, play golf or go on a weekend getaway with my significant other.
Space is considered so unimportant in sports cars that when Porsche revised the Cayman, it went from fitting two regular cart bags to fitting one carry bag
That would be good to know. Right now, it has generic super car looks. Reminds me of a hybrid version of the R8.
Don’t understand why no one has followed the Cayman with the hatch/trunk behind the engine.
“Don’t understand why no one has followed the Cayman with the hatch/trunk behind the engine.”
You mean other than the original NSX? :)
Good point and that is an aspect of the original the new NSX should have kept
The raised rear end has aerodynamic and cooling benefits. Porsche could do this with the Cayman because of the flat-6 engine having very little height. A V6, especially with turbos and hybrid drive batteries, takes up more space.
At least the NSX has a front trunk. The Alfa 4C has a tiny rear boot and the front end is filled with radiators and some wasted space. A little lazy, but very Italian.
“We’re looking at R8 levels of practicality here (at best).”
Never actually owned a German car, eh?
Sounds like a budget McLaren P1, and looks pretty good, too. Way to go, Acura!
total miss.
probably overloaded with electronic everything, inc. steering and over complicated. looks dated and UN-original. cayman beats this even the mustang beats this. (mx-5 new one beats this)
Wasn’t the old NSX pretty good performance and great handling with Japanese reliability in a modest package at a non-supercar type price?
If you were a kid now, would you hang this poster on your wall?
hell no.
Think of the children.
Not sure if I qualify as a children, but I think this thing looks way better than almost ALL other cars.
Out of curiosity, what car released in the last few years do you think looks poster worthy?
This is the 2015 equivalent of a 1958 Oldsmobile in terms of styling. Overwrought in the extreme. Maybe I’m lost in the 1960s, but I’d prefer a DeTomaso Mangusta for a toy.
Pretty, but before I buy, is there a manual diesel option…in Brown ? If not then Acura is just playing with us again.
Internet fanbois with no money aside, I wonder what the Additional Dealer Profit stickers will read….it is pretty and the first few folks to have one will no doubt pay for the privilege.
That god awful buck-tooth front end …
I don’t mind being the minority here; I absolutely love the design.
True, you could see some traces of an R8 in there. From the sideprofile, if you squint hard enough, maybe a hint of Mclaren MP4 DNA. My chief complaint of this NSX 2.0 design is it should have paid greater homage to the original NSX 1.0 design.
Why I would not buy:
1. Lack of a manual gearbox.
2. Do not want any hybrid tech in my “exotic.”
I don’t mind being the minority here; I absolutely love the design.
True, you could see some traces of an R8 in there. From the profile, if you squint hard enough, maybe a hint of Mclaren MP4 DNA. My chief complaint of this NSX 2.0 design is it should have paid greater homage to the original NSX 1.0 design.
Why I would not buy:
1. Lack of a manual gearbox.
2. Do not want any hybrid tech in my “exotic.”
As on owner of a hybrid with 3 pedals, it is surprising how well a peaky motor with no bottom end torque works with an electic motor that has zero rpm torque.
Mmmm that sounds awesome. What car is that? Are there that many?
Will the first year model has transmission problems like Odyssey and Accord?
All that money and you only get 2 pedals?
In 15 years the NSX1 & NSX2 will be at par….
The press pics are decent, but if you study them at a second glance or imagine the car in a natural setting…
This thing is going to be stunning to see in the wild!
If stunning equals generic (relative to supercar class), phat (as in bloated), trend following rather than leading, and completely cribbing aspects of about 10 other manufacturers (from Audi to McLaren to Lamborghini), but without any soul…
…then yes.
I finally looked at all the pictures, and wish they’d released this design years ago. It makes the center “boat” crease front and back acceptable on the TL etc. once this is out there.
Insight1.
Even though it was made in the same factory as the NSX1, it is at the opposite end of the performance spectrum.