First Drive: 2017 Acura NSX
In January 2012, Honda pulled the wraps off the NSX concept car at the North American International Auto Show.
Since then it has been one of the longest reveals in automotive history.
Finally, the real deal is set to hit Canadian roads in spring 2016.
As with the concept, the production car brings jaw-dropping looks and some high-end technologies—the hybrid format not only promises to be green, it delivers a stellar turn of speed.
Given its time on the show circuit and the fact that several competitors have been reworked during that interval, the NSX could have looked old before its birth.
The finished car has a surprisingly contemporary look that is both swoopy and functional.
The large air openings up front keep the engine and transmission cool, while the rear side pods house the intercoolers for the turbochargers—yes, a twin-turbo V6 engine that’s married to no fewer than three electric motors.
Sitting mid-ship is the 3.5-litre V6 engine and nine-speed twin-clutch transmission, with an electric motor sandwiched between the two.
Up front are another two electric motors.
The net system output is rated at 573 horsepower and 476 lb.-ft. of torque.
This, in a car that tips the scales at just 1,725-kilograms, brings a mighty kick when the gas is matted.
A big part of the speed sensation is that there is absolutely no lag between the demand for power and the delivery of it.
Second, it’s the transmission.
In simple terms it has a launch gear (first), seven performance gears and one cruising gear (ninth).
The combination of ratios and the speed of the shifts combine to give the NSX serious pace.
As for the handling, well, it is crisp and then some.
The adaptive suspension and well-sorted steering deliver a planted feel.
And then there are those front electric motors which provide torque vectoring.
In the end, it handles like the Dickens.
The test cars were also endowed with the otional carbon ceramic brake rotors.
The good news is that even as the three electric motors harvest kinetic energy through regenerative braking, the pedal proved to be devoid of the usual hybrid mushiness.
As such it was easily modulated.
While the driving experience was limited to two seriously quick laps around Honda’s proving grounds in Tochigi, Japan, it is safe to say the NSX meets its objective of "everyday" super car.
It has a serious turn of speed, uncanny handling and uber braking.
It promises to be a collectible in years to come.