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SUPERCARS
23
WORDS BY FERMAN LAO
Twenty-five years ago, Honda shook up the sports-car world
with the NSX, which showed that supercars could and
should be as reliable as your everyday ride. It was powered by
a 3.0-liter normally aspirated V6, made 270hp, sported a
lightweight aluminum body, and employed cutting-edge
tech derived from Honda’s Formula 1 program. After a
15-year run, the NSX retired in 2005 and remained in hiatus
until its replacement was unveiled at the 2015 North
American International Auto Show.
The question everyone is asking: “Is it worth the 10-year wait?”
If you’re anticipating a mid-engined sports car with a total output of
over 570hp, then this new model is off to a good start. Most of the grunt
comes from the longitudinally mounted 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6, mated to
a nine-speed dual-clutch gearbox driving the rear wheels.
An electric motor is sandwiched between the transmission and the
engine to add some hybrid power. It doesn’t end there. Thrown in for good
measure are two more electric motors, each one driving a front wheel to
give the NSX all-wheel-drive capability and active torque vectoring.
Magnetorheological dampers also guarantee supercar handling as well as a
decent ride. All these goodies are enclosed within a body that’s even more
eye-catching than the preceding concepts we’ve been teased with.
The best part: The NSX is aimed squarely at a certain Italian model
whose name consists of three digits. This is certainly an exotic car well
worth waiting for, much like the original NSX. The only thing that would
make it more desirable is if Honda ups the ante and also decides to go
against the numbers 918 and 675.