The NSX sports car is making a long-awaited homecoming in Japan that underscores the global ambitions of a halo hybrid that must do double duty for the Acura and Honda brands.
The original NSX, sold from 1990 to 2005, was engineered and manufactured in Japan. Now, the second generation returns as a car developed and produced in the U.S.
Honda began taking orders in Japan for the 573-hp electric-gasoline sports car on Aug. 25. The NSX went on sale in the U.S. earlier this summer. It arrives in Europe and China this fall, and eventually reaches about 50 countries across the globe.
The NSX is a hybrid in more ways than just its sophisticated high-tech drivetrain, which mates three electric motors to a 3.5-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 gasoline engine. It was also a hybrid project.
Development was led out of the U.S., but work was split 50-50 with engineers in Japan. Japan took the lead in creating the sporty hybrid drivetrain. The U.S. had responsibility for most everything else, from chassis and design to production and packaging.
The U.S. even contributed the chief engineer, Ted Klaus, head of global development.
The NSX also presents Honda with hybrid branding. In some markets, including the U.S., China and the Middle East, it will be sold under the premium Acura brand. But in others, such as Japan and Europe, the flagship two-seater will sit atop the mass-market Honda brand.
The NSX -- which goes 0 to 60 mph in just more than 3 seconds -- starts at $157,800, including shipping, and can run past $200,000 with options.
Klaus conceded that at that bargain price -- when compared with rival benchmarks such as the Ferrari 458 or Porsche 911 Turbo -- the NSX is a long-term profitability play.
“We talk about direct return on investment and also indirect,” he said. “To get direct return on investment, it’s doing to take a long life cycle.”
The production cycle will have to approach that of the original NSX, he said, without giving a definitive timeframe.
A long product cycle will mean keeping the NSX fresh with variants, he added. But he declined to discuss about other NSX possibilities. Observers have speculated about the possibility of an open-top targa model, a non-hybrid version, or even an all-electric iteration.
Fresh alternatives are on the way. “Right now we are already working on future ideas,” he said.
“The key is to fully satisfy the initial customers’ demands and then begin to introduce next exciting proposals,” he said. “So these kinds of waves are coming.”
In the meantime, however, the NSX will deliver plenty of indirect dividends in terms of new technologies, human resource development and brand building, he said.
source - autonews.com
