Honda made its first attempt at a production supercar, the NSX, 21 years ago, and we've been waiting for the follow-up ever since. At Detroit today, we saw the genesis of the next NSX supercar, slated for showrooms within three years. No power or weight figures were mentioned but like the prior NSX, its primary engine will be a mid-mounted V-6. Honda claims the NSX's Sport Hybrid SH-AWD® (Super Handling All Wheel Drive™) hybrid system will deliver handling performance unmatched by previous AWD systems.
The Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system has been previously deployed by Honda in the Prelude and domestic-market Inspire models and uses two in-wheel EVs at the front in addition to the rear wheel horsepower from the direct-injection V6 with an additional electric motor as part of the transmission, and employs what it is calling a "bilateral torque adjustable control system", and can instantly generate negative or positive torque to the front wheels under cornering.
The second generation NSX, which was shelved due to the financial crisis, originally was rumoured to have been a v10 engine, but the new NSX is now believed to have a V6 engine of around 3.5 litre capacity, producing in the vicinity of a 400 bhp in total.
The car uses a dual clutch transmission and will be produced some time in the next three years in both coupe and sportster versions, with the sportster version likely to surface after the coupe version goes on sale.
Just how light the new NSX will be has been a matter of great conjecture. Many believe that the rumoured 400 bhp total power output will not deliver supercar performance unles the car is unfeasibly light. Punters may not be prepared to pay the US$100,000+ price tag for a supercar without genuine supercar numbers.
Honda is obviously playing some of its cards very close to its chest - the weight and horsepower of the car will be very important numbers when they finally surface.