The nail-biting is almost over. A replacement for the Honda NSX supercar of the '90s has been one of the most eagerly anticipated, and consistently delayed, cars of the last decade, but now it's in sight.
Honda's North American luxury division, Acura, pulled the covers off of its NSX Concept at the Detroit Motor Show on Monday and it previews a production model that Honda promises to have in showroom floors within the next three years.
True to its supercar tradition, the NSX makes use of lightweight materials and a mid-mounted V6 VTEC engine with direct injection, mated to a dual clutch transmission. Its outputs are still up to our imagination, though, as Honda has yet to disclose these.
Of course, this supercar is far from traditional in the emission stakes, its V6 forming part of a new all-wheel drive hybrid system. So while the petrol motor looks after the front wheels, two electric motors do service at the front axle.
Thanks to what Honda calls a Bilateral Torque Adjustable Control System, the all-wheel drive hardware can instantly generate negative or positive torque to the front wheels during cornering.
Honda president Takanobu Ito, who led the development of the original NSX, is especially excited about the project: “This Sport Hybrid SH-AWD system will make NSX the ultimate expression of Acura's idea to create synergy between man and machine.
“Like the first NSX, we will again express high performance through engineering efficiency.”
The new NSX will be developed and built in the USA, where it will wear an Acura badge, but the versions sold around the globe will naturally wear the Honda label.