NSX. Has there ever been a more evocative set of alphabets for Honda? Blessed with handling touched by the genius of Ayrton Senna and offering true everyday usability, it ruffled some serious feathers when it appeared over 25 years ago because it proved sports cars didn’t have to be unreliable, uncomfortable and unruly to be good. Honda kept making it until 2005 and we’ve been waiting for an encore ever since.
Well, after numerous concepts, an aborted front engine car that ended up having a career in SuperGT and multiple delays, the all-new NSX is ready to roll into showrooms. Order books should be open by the end of the year and by the middle of 2016, the first RHD cars will be coming off the production line at Honda’s new Performance Manufacturing Centre in Marysville, Ohio.
Such a protracted gestation period means expectations are naturally high but can the new Honda NSX live up to them? I took a closer look and got behind the wheel at Honda’s R&D centre at Tochigi to find out.
A mean, clean machine
The all-new NSX first appeared at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show as a concept car and the production version has kept most of its design lines. Yes, the dimensions are different – 4470mm (L), 1940mm (W) and 1215mm (H), but despite being longer, wider and taller, it still carries the same low-slung cab-forward profile that was sported not just by the concept but the original too.
The styling has presence and though some will say there are elements of the Audi R8 in the nose and a touch of McLaren 650S in the way the roof flows into a pert rear section, there can be no denying it looks like a proper sports car and one that hints at its potency too.
According to chief engineer and global project leader for the NSX, Ted Klaus (above), the design team spent a lot of time working on managing the airflow, and it shows. The car is festooned with intakes, exhaust vents, ducts and diffusers to help keep it planted to the ground and cool the engine and as a side benefit, they also look cool. There’s lots of fine detailing to appreciate, such as how the intakes behind the doors funnel air into three separate sections and those “Ferrari-esque” flying buttresses, so even if you think it’s a tad derivative from certain angles, few cars will beat the new NSX for kerb side appeal.
The original was revolutionary for being the first “all-aluminium” supercar and the new one follows in its footsteps by deploying some world first material applications and construction processes. The chassis uses a spaceframe design made of aluminium and ultra high-strength steel mixed with a carbonfibre floor to add rigidity, while some components use aluminium made by a new casting process combining the benefits of both cast and forged processes. The body panels meanwhile are made from a combination of aluminium and sheet moulding composite for both strength and lightness.
Honda’s been on a “Green Initiative” for some time now, so it comes as no surprise that their new sports car is a hybrid. The NSX has three separate electric motors to supplement the direct injection twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine (one at each front wheel and one mated to the engine at the rear), which is a configuration Honda calls SH-AWD or Sports Hybrid-All Wheel Drive.
Unlike conventional AWD systems, SH-AWD uses separate power units to power the front and rear wheels. The fronts get individual electric motors producing 72Nm each while the rear axle is subjected to the full force of the petrol-hybrid engine. The headline numbers are impressive because Honda rates the engine alone at 500hp and 550Nm and don’t forget it has a 148Nm electric motor to boost low-end response. The total combined output of all the motors is 573hp and 646Nm, which is not earth shattering but is in keeping with Honda’s philosophy of not chasing on-paper numbers.
The gearbox is an all-new nine-speed DCT, which Honda claims is able to perform “synapse-quick gear changes” along with rev-matching downshifts. It’s the only gearbox available with the car so those hoping for the lovely mechanical rifle bolt feel of a Honda close-ratio transmission will be sadly disappointed.
Benchmarked against the best
I asked Ted Klaus about the cars Honda benchmarked while developing the NSX and he wasn’t shy in naming some luminaries of the sports car world. “We looked at various cars when benchmarking the performance level we wanted to achieve and they were as diverse as the Nissan GT-R, Porsche 911 Turbo, Audi R8 V10, McLaren 12C and Ferrari 458 Italia. Our goal is to match and beat the standards set by those cars but at either the same or in some cases significantly lower price.”
Those are lofty goals to aim for but Honda argues their new car is up to the task. Acceleration from a standing start for instance is likely to be very quick as the electric motors provide instant torque to launch the car off the line. Klaus showed us a graph where the response of the SH-AWD drivetrain was compared to an equivalent EV only solution and engine only solution. The difference on initial acceleration was a startling 0.2 secs so the official acceleration benchmark numbers should be impressive despite the heavy kerb weight of over 1700kg.
The original NSX was renowned for its forgiving handling at a time when sports cars required a lot of driver skill to get the best out of them. The new one deploys some interesting modern technology to try and replicate the achievements of its mould breaking predecessor. Agile Handling Assist (AHA) is Honda’s latest dynamic assistance package which uses the electric motors at each front wheel to achieve a torque vectoring effect.
Suspension is via double wishbones at each corner while the dampers are magnetic adjustable units that alter their damping levels depending on which driving mode is selected. Honda has given the NSX four switchable modes ranging from Quiet, which allows you to drive the car as a full EV, to Sport, Sport+ and Track, which they claim reveals the full spectrum of abilities the car has. Klaus stressed that the complex electronics are tuned to improve the driving experience, and pointed out the electric motors could either deliver instant throttle response or silent all-electric drive.
Unlike on some rivals though you can’t pick and choose the various settings individually. So, it’s impossible to have the engine and gearbox in their most aggressive setting while the dampers and steering response are set on soft. It’s arguable if being able to choose from such a menu actually improves the driving experience anyway, but it’s one area where rival manufacturers can claim to be ahead of Honda.
Tyres and brakes are as per sports car norms, so the fronts get 8.5 x 19-inch wheels while the rears are shod with fat 295 section tyres on 20-inch hoops. The brakes meanwhile are carbon-ceramic discs grabbed by six-pot callipers at the front and four-pot callipers at the rear.
The everyday supercar
One of the core values of the NSX is its usability as an everyday sports car, so parameters like driver and passenger comfort and even ease of use for the controls are given more focus than they usually are on other sports cars. This is amply proven by the superb view out of the cockpit. Despite a roof height mere inches taller than a Ford GT40, a low scuttle, wide screen and the ultra-thin A-pillars deliver a panoramic view of the road ahead. The tops of the wheel arches also act as reference markers to place the car more accurately around corners, which is vital for a sports car.
“The NSX stays true to its roots of being a usable everyday sports car. The driver remains central to the experience and the car is an extension of that aim. That’s why we’ve developed the electronics to deliver varying levels of assistance and as the driver gets more familiar with the performance parameters he or she can gradually decrease those levels. It’s also why we’ve focussed on providing a comfortable cabin and a real boot that will accommodate a practical amount of luggage” said Klaus when asked about the philosophy underpinning his new baby.
As for interior styling, the passenger cell has high sides but a low sill to give the impression of being cocooned in a leather lined interior. The car I drove had firm but comfortable seats that held me in place nicely and the instrument cluster is an adaptable TFT display, which is becoming increasingly common for most sports cars. The centre console houses the climate controls and there’s a central touchscreen to access a menu system. The drive modes are selected via a rotary dial and just like Ferrari there is no shift lever as buttons are used to select P, D, N and R.
Driving impressions
I got two laps in the NSX at Honda’s proving grounds in Tochigi, their famed R&D centre. The drive was on their 4km long high-speed oval so there was very little chance to test out parameters like steering response, body roll and stability under braking. Unfortunately, I was also limited to a strict 180km/h top speed and had to keep the car in the middle lane of the bowl, so it was really more of a familiarisation exercise.
Still, I don’t get to drive sports cars that aren’t officially on sale yet on a daily basis so there was a palpable sense of excitement as my number was called up to take my turn behind the wheel.
Despite the low roof, getting in was simple and once seated the wide screen offered a great view of the road ahead. There is no sense of intimidation despite knowing it has 573hp and though it starts up in suitably dramatic sports car fashion, I drive off in Quiet mode, meaning it was a loud as an electric toothbrush.
I immediately select Sport mode and the engine barks into life. Flooring the throttle delivers instant response and before I know it the engineer sitting to my right (I was driving an LHD Acura NSX) was reminding me about the speed limit. Response, in Sport mode is sharp but you can feel there is more to come.
Towards the end of my first lap I slowed to 60km/h, switched the car into Sport+ and then pinned the throttle again. The savagery of the acceleration was shocking as the NSX literally transformed from a mildly pissed off mountain lion into an enraged tiger on full attack mode. The gears snicked through quickly on the DCT gearbox and though I was allowed to use Track mode, it wasn’t too hard to guess that unleashed, the Honda NSX would be an epic event to drive.
Epic but controllable though. At no point did I feel like I was on the verge on an accident and the NSX felt totally safe despite the speed it was clearly capable of. Admittedly, two laps on a high speed bowl and limited to only 60 per cent of its speed potential will hardly test the limits of a modern sports car but it was enough to convince me of the depth of ability available to be exploited on another day.
Final say
Honda Malaysia have yet to confirm the NSX will be officially offered for sale, but there is the very real possibility of it arriving as a special order vehicle. Yes, setting up the infrastructure to sell and service such a specialised car will be costly, but this is the ultimate halo model for the brand and if they don’t do it, you know the grey market boys will be happy to serve eager buyers with RM1.2-1.4 million (my estimated price) rattling around in their bank account.
I’ll leave the last words to Ted Klaus.
“The new NSX embodies all the same qualities as the original. It won’t be the fastest or most powerful sports car available, but will deliver a special unique driving and ownership experience that won’t be as easily quantified as numbers on a spec sheet.”
Honda NSX
Price: RM1.2-1.4 million (estimated)
Engine: 3.5-litre, V6, twin-turbo petrol, AWD
Output (engine): 500hp@7,500rpm, 550Nm@2,000rpm
Electric assistance: 3 motors (2 front + 1 rear)
System output: 573hp, 645Nm
Transmission: 9-speed dual-clutch auto w/steering shift paddles
Performance: 0-100km/h in 3.0 seconds, top speed 306km/h (est.)
Kerb weight: 1,725kg