When 2015 Acura NSX pulled the satiny sheet off of
the 2015 Acura NSX concept at the Detroit auto show, something unusual happened:
There was applause. And we don’t mean the meek golf clap of a couple of
newbie journalists or the lone, deliberate thwacking of a smiling PR
guy. This was actual, apparently sincere applause for a car. Honda’s
U.S. chief, Takanobu Ito, who served on the engineering team for the
first 2015 Acura NSX, appeared to inflate as he breathed in the goodwill.
2015 Acura NSX Concept Photos
Then
Acura went for the goodwill kill and revealed that the reincarnation of
the first real Japanese supercar would take place largely in the United
States. It would be developed and produced in Ohio under the guidance
of a guy named Ted. Ted Klaus, that is. He’s the vehicle-dynamics guru
alleged to have a backside more golden than anyone else in the company’s
U.S. operation. If anyone can pull off a legit 2015 Acura NSX, went the buzz,
he’s the guy.
Acura promises that within
three years, the 2015 Acura NSXwill again prowl the world’s highways (and
racetracks), looking to embarrass more pure-blooded sports cars. That’s
the legacy of the original car that went out of production in 2005. And
that’s the high bar that the new NSX will have to surpass to be
considered a success.
Unlike the original 2015 Acura NSX, which used high technology in pursuit primarily of low weight
(aluminum unibody and suspension components, titanium connecting rods),
the new car will rely on Honda’s hybrid know-how. Primary power for the
rear wheels will come from a mid-mounted, direct-injected V-6. That
engine will be bolted to a dual-clutch, paddle-shifted automatic that
incorporates an electric motor, similar to Honda’s other hybrid
offerings. But that setup will be augmented by two electric motors up
front to create a four-wheel-drive arrangement the company is calling,
enticingly, Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive.
Perhaps best
understood using the more common “torque vectoring” descriptor, this new
setup can shuttle acceleration and braking torque from left to right,
although here it’s done completely electrically. The system also would
allow electric-only front-wheel drive. When the engine is running, we
expect the electrified wheels would be called into action only when
extra power or traction is needed. This all gets loaded into a tidy
package that is several inches shorter overall than a Ferrari 458
Italia or a McLaren MP4-12C. That is, if the dimensions of the concept
represent production specs.
Unlike the
nearly half-million-dollar LFA from Acura’s Japanese luxury-car
competitor, Lexus, the 2015 Acura NSX should be within reach of the merely
rich. We estimate the price to be between the cost of a Porsche 911 and
an Audi R8, both prime competitors. So plan on an entry figure of about
$110,000. And Acura isn’t shy about saying that the handsome concept is
the car it is aiming to build, so don’t expect a design that diverges
too much from what you see here.
