The next Honda NSX will not be a hybrid, but it is definitely coming, according to Takeo Fakui. In an exclusive interview given to Autocar, the Honda CEO scotched rumours that the new supercar had been postponed indefinitely, and that it would run a petrol-electric powertrain; the latest information is that it’ll be launched at the next Japanese motor show in 2009, and be badged as an Acura.

“The new supercar is necessary for Honda,” Fakui told Autocar. He also confirmed that it would be powered by a V10 petrol engine currently still in development, but that engine wouldn't be getting any assistance from an electric motor. “The new NSX must have speed and be easy to drive and be considerate to the enviroment. But it’s not a hybrid,” said Fakui.

Fakui wouldn't be drawn on what the supercar's green credentials would be, but Honda insiders predict that it will place emphasis on a low kerbweight and the new V10, thought to be a 500bhp 5.0-litre, will be very economical for its power and capacity.

Like the last model, the next NSX is likely to have an aluminium body. This time around it will probably be a front-engined 2+2, further enhancing its reputation as a supercar to drive everyday.

The company has already confirmed that the new NSX is unlikely to wear a Honda badge. Instead it will be sold globally as an Acura, and play a pivotal roll in the global roll-out of the company's upmarket brand.

By Chas Hallett

>> Autocar - Next Honda NSX won’t be hybrid

I'm glad to hear this.

Good news. Hybrid is so overrated.

great. I thought that a hybrid would be a poor choice for a performance car as well.

- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Nissan’s recently launched - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER has been met with much acclaim and - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER is showing great promise, so now the pressure is on Honda and its Acura division to wow the automotive world with a new version of the legendary NSX supercar. Acura previewed one possible design at last year’s Detroit Auto Show with the - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER, but the design was quickly dropped due to the unfavourable response given by the public. Time is ticking and Acura’s designers are working hard on penning a new design, the only problem is they can’t come up with anything.

“All of the designers are working together on the NSX, but they can’t agree on the styling,” Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., revealed to Automotive News at the recent Detroit Auto Show. Designers know the final styling is critical if the NSX is expected to compete with the aforementioned rivals but arriving at something substantial is proving to be extremely difficult for the California-based design time, Colliver explained.

The only information Colliver would confirm is that the car will be powered by a ten-cylinder engine. He also said the new NSX is scheduled to arrive before a redesigned RL sedan and that model is set to make its entry sometime in 2010.


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Nissan really deserves credit here for actually bringing a car out. This constant nonsense about the Acura NSX and Lexus LF-A is just ridiculous and just plain boring at this point. Acura: Ok you don't know what to do with the car, fine. Keep it to yourself until you get a clue. Lexus: Produce the damn thing while it is still relevant. For Honda to have so much ability they sure are lame and gutless. I hope they aren't trying to revise the NSX to look like one of its Japanese competitors. Do you own thing. Clearly another Ferrari knockoff won't cut it as the NSX stayed hot for all of 18 months and then lingered for nearly 15 years!

M

Honda’s NSX replacement is here. CAR Online’s spies have snapped the first pictures of the replacement for the legendary mid-engined supercar testing in Germany. Only this time around the engine – a V10 – will be mounted in the nose while drive will go to all four wheels. Gone is the NSX’s mid-engined, rear-drive V6 layout.

Honda is taking inspiration for the new car from the 2007 Acura ASC concept, and recently stepped up development of the NSX replacement. Honda has watched Lexus flounder with the LF-A, while the Nissan GT-R has become a phenomenon. For a company with such rich engineering history, Honda cannot afford to be without its own flagship car.

So the Honda NSX is now going to be front engined?

Yes, and it may not even be an NSX, let alone a Honda. At the 2007 Detroit motor show Honda unveiled the Acura Advanced Sports Car concept (ASC for short). At the time, its designer Jon Ikeda told CAR Online that it was the successor to the NSX. Not its replacement mind, but a new car going in a new direction. Hence the new layout, and not a bit of it to do with chasing increased sales and better profitability…

Either way, the new company flagship will be a tech-fest, desgined to showcase Honda’s know-how. ‘This car will feature advanced technology and match my passion for performance,’ Honda CEO and president Takeo Fukui told CAR Online. ‘This will include an all-new V10 engine, Acura’s most powerful ever.’ That engine will sit in the nose of the new car, and drive all four wheels via Honda’s Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive system, which will have a rear torque bias.

What about the styling?

The Acura ASC was styled in Honda’s LA design studio, and seemed to take a lot of inspiration from the Corvette. For production it will be updated, as the concept was too low. The production car is less rakish but will keep the ASC's clean, crisp surfaces.

At the rear the concept’s twin stacked exhausts remain, but now seem the norm after the Lexus IS-F and Ferrari California. Even the concept’s rear light bar stretching across the boot seems to be visible through the disguise.
And it’s going to be an Acura?

That’s the theory. The NSX’s biggest market was America, and sales should only increase with a switch to a front-engined GT layout.

For the UK, nothing is 100 percent. According to Honda UK there are no current plans to launch Acura in Europe, and while the NSX replacment has been confirmed for production, no dates have been set for any launch.

We don’t expect to see a production car until 2009 at the earliest, but in the meantime start drafting your letter of intent to your local Honda dealer now.


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Finally some actual pics of a real car!!!!!!!!


M

It looks extremely compact, and it has those stacked exhaust as well

I'm all for it but only as long as they don't call it an NSX.

The NSX moniker should stay true to the concept of a RWD, mid-engined, high-revving V-Tec sportster... Anything else would be heresy.

I've got to agree with you Martin. Should the NSX name make yet another appearance, it should stay true to form.

Nevertheless, the car seen here looks intriguing.

Looks uncannily similar to the LFA