When JFK committed America to landing a man on the moon, he made the point that there are some things you have to do because they are hard, not because they represent the path of least resistance.
Welcome to Acura’s moonshot.
With the 2017 NSX, Acura shows us not only an amazing automobile but also, perhaps even more important, how it …
Thrill Switch Engage
As good as the NSX is on a perfectly smooth track, it’s absolute magic on a twisty road or a bumpy surface. The computer-controlled shocks maintain grip and provide unprecedented stability when the surface is less than perfect.
For 2017, though, the legendary NSX nameplate returns–and with big shoes to fill. When the original debuted in the early 1990s, it was a breath of Japanese fresh air in a sports car scene largely defined by German and Italian machinery.
Although some dismissed that first NSX as antiseptic and lacking soul compared to its more finicky European competitors, it gradually became appreciated for its own stellar performance–especially in light of the fact that it brought Honda-grade reliability to the supercar ranks. The same qualities that critics originally used to pan the car came to define it and solidify its place in the sports car pantheon.
As with most legends, though, a cloud of mythos and emotion formed around what was already a competent, capable machine. The current design and engineering team knew that by reintroducing the NSX name, they would be evoking comparisons to an icon, not just a car.
So naturally their target went more hardcore. Whereas the original NSX was designed as a foil for the Porsche 911 and perhaps a used Ferrari 308, the 2017 version has its sights set squarely on cars like the latest Audi R8 V10, Ferrari 458 and Porsche 911 Turbo. With such lofty goals comes a lofty price tag: Prices start in the mid-$150K range and quickly run into the $180,000s for a well-equipped version.
But oh, the joy.
Ones and Zeros
The new NSX is a technological powerhouse. A twin-turbo V6 is just the beginning of the motivational force, as a connected electric motor at the engine and separate electric drive motors for each front wheel can all provide power when needed. With everything at full song, no fewer than 573 horsepower and 476 ft.-lbs. of torque drive the 3800-pound car.
Controlling all this thrust is enough processing power to not only guide and monitor that first moon landing, but video-record it, edit the footage, broadcast the film, and distribute the video game based on it as well. And that technology is integrated so seamlessly into the experience that the result is more reminiscent of the elemental original NSX than you might imagine.
The NSX’s chassis is built from whatever material was deemed ideal for a given use. Somehow Acura figured out ways to join dissimilar materials into a terrifically stiff and efficient unibody.
In its most aggressive driving mode–Track mode–the car’s electronic assistants aren’t so much nannies as they are coaches. They reward skilled driving by helping you inch toward the edge of traction rather than punitively dragging you back from it if you get too close.
The result is a driving experience that feels for all the world natural and not digitally enhanced. The impression is that the NSX’s digital assistants are there to help the driver take advantage of an already stellar chassis, not to make up for any mechanical shortcomings. Indeed, the only shortcomings in this car’s operating chain will likely be meat-based.
Behind the Wheel
We’ve been alluding to the fact that the new NSX is some sort of dream come true from behind the wheel. Actually, it’s pretty close.
We got to sample the new sportster both on track and in the mountains of Southern California, and not once did we feel like we put a wheel wrong. The additional motors, electronic controls and digital wondery made us feel like heroes, not like we were having our hands held.
Inside, the cabin is spacious and refreshingly understated. The materials all feel lovely. There are appropriate amounts of gee and whiz in the design, but the overall look and feel is more homey and businesslike than you’d expect in a statement supercar. That’s fine, though: The statement comes from the fact that everything just makes sense and appears right where your hand expects it to.
Possibly the most impressive aspect of the interior is how well it allows you to see out of it. Unlike so many modern cars with their high windowsills, thigh-thick A-pillars and tiny windshields, the NSX was designed with outward vision as a priority, and it completely shows. The front fenders are in view just enough to be helpful in placing the car, and its overall visibility helps maintain an intuitive knowledge of the car’s boundaries.
Handling is expectably impressive. Since this is a mid-engine car, an experienced driver will anticipate some of the physics at play and drive accordingly–adding that bit of countersteer when throttling out of a slow corner, or pausing briefly to settle the rear end after a hard transition. But you quickly realize that these little compensations are no longer necessary. In fact, you can almost use the FWD trick of simply mashing the throttle and letting the electric motors on the front wheels stabilize the chassis when you feel things getting funky.
In Track mode, you can outdrive the assists, but it won’t help you any. You can also switch them all off, but get ready for your lap times to go up a bit–or at least become far more inconsistent.
The turbocharged gas engine is auditioning for a cameo in “Star Wars: Episode VIII.”
The other modes available–Quiet, Sport and Sport+–are rather self-explanatory. Quiet mode is your cross-country touring mode. You could easily do several-hour stretches in this car without getting worn out. The throttle application is sporty but not abrupt, the chassis tuning is mild but not floaty, and the stainless-steel exhaust is softened by some extra sound abatement.
Sport and Sport+ both up the ante in rather predictable ways: holding each gear a bit longer, shifting a bit harder, increasing the edge in the suspension, and making more and more slip angle available from the tires.
Particularly impressive in all these modes is the dual-clutch transmission. Engagement and shifts in Quiet mode are practically automatic-smooth. In Sport+ or Track mode, it selects the proper gear for any situation or point on the track or street. It’s almost spooky.
In Track mode, but with the nine-speed gearbox in its automatic setting, the NSX stages downshifts and matches revs on the way into a corner, lets you throttle your way through that corner, and bangs the upshifts even when there are some lateral g-loads involved, all without upsetting the balance of the chassis. It’s truly uncanny. Even when we tried to fool it, we couldn’t.
What’s Next?
Here’s the good news for those of us who aren’t one-percenters: The new NSX is merely the first step in the re-excitening of Acura–at least the NSX engineers hope so.
The NSX is as much a trial balloon as an automobile, and if it takes off and is held in equal esteem to the original, there’s every chance we could see more intriguing Acura models. And those could be very relevant to a much broader segment of our market.
“Will there ever be another Integra Type R?” In response to this frequent question, NSX engineers simply smile and take the diplomatic way out. But they are very diligent in letting you know that everyone on their team is unapologetically hardcore. The head of development is a New England Hillclimb Association record-holder, and others are regular autocrossers, club racers, LeMons and ChumpCar competitors, and all-around greasy-fingernail types.
Original NSX DNA is apparent in the new design, although the modern car makes a decidedly bigger a statement than the earlier model’s more subtle lines. The futureshock powertrain, which combines a gas engine and three electric motors, also makes it clear that the Acura brand is back to play.
They’re also, with a couple of key exceptions, Americans. The NSX was developed and will be constructed in Marysville, Ohio–hardly a place associated with world-class supercars prior to the 2017 model year. Its chassis was tuned heavily on the Nürburgring, but it also owes just as much of its composure to endless laps at VIR.
Developers are hoping that this is Acura’s highly visible first salvo in its return to a brand more associated with excitement than responsibility. They practically started from scratch for this design a couple of years ago, when delays in the development of the original variant threatened to keep it out of true supercar territory by the time it hit production. The team did a moonshot’s worth of work getting this amazing machine to production status.
As one engineer put it, with a sly smile, “It would be a shame to waste all this development and technology on a single variant, or even a single model.” That sounds like exceptional news for all of us.
