The Honda NSX has been widely reported on for some time now, but its presence at the Geneva Motor Show 2016 has paved the way for one all-important detail: the price.
The new NSX will cost approximately £130,000 and deliveries will begin in the autumn of 2016, Honda has announced. Each one will be built by 100 specialists exclusively at the Performance Manufacturing Centre in Marysville of Ohio, US.
Taking on Audi, Porsche, Ferrari, McLaren et al will be tough, but the new NSX is pulling no punches. Underneath the sleek body is a longitudinally mounted twin-turbo V6 and three electric motors that generate more than 550bhp ─ nearly double the original NSX’s 276bhp.
The engine is mated to a nine-speed DCT gearbox designed by Honda. It features its own electric motor that applies torque directly to the crankshaft for higher output and more immediate power delivery to the rear wheels.
The good news is that the production car is just as easy on the eye as the concept. It’s a cross between the Audi R8 and a McLaren. Sadly pop-up lights seen on the original car are nowhere to be seen.
Performance and efficiency details are still unknown, but we do know it will have 19-inch alloy wheels at the front and 20-inch at the rear, both wrapped in Continental ContiSportContact tyres. We also know braking is the job of carbon ceramic discs and six-pot calipers.
Given the Audi R8 V10 Plus costs from £145,100 and the less powerful R8 V10 from £119,500, the Honda NSX is up against stiff competition. Not only that, its less powerful hybrid competitor, the BMW i8, is around £30,000 cheaper.
Arguably, though, its biggest competitor is the original NSX, which was the last supercar from Honda, the first Japanese supercar and one that captured the hearts and minds of a generation of Gran Turismo players.
The new NSX was originally going to come with a V10 engine when it surfaced in 2007, but the global recession played a role in the project’s termination. Then, 10 years later, it was revived and the rest, as they say, is history.
100 pre-orders were taken as far back as 2014, each one secured with a £5,000 deposit.
Rory Reid went hands-on with the NSX, as you can see in the video below. We will bring you all the details once Honda spills the beans. Hopefully this century, but we’re not holding our breath.
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