2017 Acura NSX First Drive - The Supercar Pragmatic - I remember like it was yesterday I was working for. crazy little company in Fr...
I remember like it was yesterday
I was working for. crazy little company in Fremont, California, in 1995. One day the boss-man pulled up in a shiny new Acura NSX. He was weak. He was a stranger. It was cool. I did not know the Bitchin 'Acura in the parking upset the apple cart supercar.
thereTwenty-five years, Honda put the big boys on notice of a supercar quick, economical and reliable. Yes, reliable and supercar can be used in the same sentence without irony when talking about a first generation NSX.
If you set the machine-way 190, you will realize that it was a different world. Supercars were rear wheel drive, little more than 300 horses, and a modern Volvo car would probably eat them alive on a track. When the NSX was euthanized in 05, the competition had more than caught up and Honda decided its resources were better used elsewhere.
For 2017, Acura NSX and resurrected the name applied to a whole new mid-engine coupe, but can he fill the big shoes left by his predecessor?
Acura claims the NSX is the only supercar made in America. I'm sure the CFA and GM would argue with that. But a supercar made in Ohio is undoubtedly a novelty. Perhaps most interesting is that the NSX is not only manufactured in Ohio, but designed in Ohio and California style. Although transmission has a Japanese pedigree, lack of a Japanese home is somewhat surprising that this is the halo car in the world of Honda.
Yep, the NSX Ohio built will be sold in Japan and other global markets. Ohio is the only place where the NSX is built.
No supercar would be complete without a crazy drivetrain, and people in Japan have. Like last time, the NSX uses a V6, but that's where the similarity ends.
Instead of the V6 of the TLX and kicked up a notch, an all-new 3.5-liter engine was created with the cylinders set at a 75 degree angle to reduce the center of gravity. Then engineers equipped with two turbochargers, a dry sump lubrication system, the injection port and direct fuel injection. With everything working in harmony, the V6 cranks out 500 healthy horses and 406 lb-ft of torque.
A dual clutch transmission with dual overhead unique internal designed sends power to the rear wheels via a limited slip differential. According to Acura, the NSX project did not exactly set out to create a hybrid supercar in the same way that BMW had high electrification on the list of the i8 design priorities. Instead, the hybrid system of the NSX was used to help the vehicle meet team performance goals.
The first performance benchmark that is easier to explain the problem in the first 1/10 2 / 10th of a second in a drag race. In a vehicle without DCT, the beginning of any launch cycle depends on the speed of the engine being just right and a clutch discharge running perfectly for the 0-30 best time. To help "fill the void", the NSX uses a pair of motors at the front that can deliver 72 horsepower and 106 lb-ft of torque instantly from a stop. Once the clutch engages at the rear, an electric motor of 47 horsepower allows the motor to drive the rear wheels to eliminate any turbo lag.
Acura rate the complete system to 573 horsepower and 476 lb-ft of torque. It's good for a 0-60 TTAC timed 3.38 seconds race with launch control at 91 degrees, 20-30 after back-to-back launch control 0-60 mph runs were completed. Obviously, the NSX has little problems with the heat soak, although I do not foresee a quick run to 60 if we ever get the NSX in our coastal test ulterior motives in California because of the cooler climate.
The real winner here was impressively low 1.5 seconds 0-30 mph time, however.
If the drive axle with two sounds at the front much like the rear axle in the RLX hybrid, you 're right. While Acura engineers say it is not the same part, it works exactly the same way. If you remember my review of the 2014 RLX Hybrid, my main complaint about vehicle dynamics is that the system could not hide certain trends front-wheel drive as a couple. While the same can be said of electric SH-AWD system RLX, the NSX this is a good thing. The NSX has a strong rear wheel bias, as shown in the graph of distribution of the theoretical maximum power above, and it is simply not possible for the Acura to send as much power to the front axle as a whole -Wheels drive Porsche 911 or Audi R8.
because of the distribution of power, the NSX can not AWD power slide around corners and is likely to be less surefooted than 911 in a winter Ohio. On the other hand, it preserves the dynamic rear wheel that some supercars lost traction in the quest.
Acura could have used a torque converter inside the DCT to solve the launch problem, as they do in the eight-speed DCT, they built for TLX and ILX, but the hybrid system introduces another interesting thing. The design allows the NSX to supply a regenerative braking while the other wheel. Although in theory it could be done with a powered mechanical AWD system using brakes, which generates excess heat, which is a problem on the track. In addition, the NSX will actually vector torque to the front if the power is on or off
software boffins Acura hybrid system produced four drive modes :. Calm, sport, sport + and track. calm causes NSX to close the exhaust valves to make the car quieter outside and close a valve in the intake system to make the quiet inside car. (The NSX literally pipes sound induction into the cabin rather than rely on the sound of the digital motor is BMW.) Quiet Mode also causes the hybrid system to be more aggressive in cutting the engine and operating mode EV. The Sport mode holds a load of the highest battery and stiffened suspension. Sport + causes the DCT to hold gears longer, off the start / stop system, stiffened the suspension again, causing the hybrid system to be more aggressive in his game torque vectoring. Track reduces the stability control program, has low speeds so the engine is screaming like a banshee, maintains the open exhaust valve, and sets the dynamic suspension to its rigid mode.
The interior of the NSX is probably present some things that will have an impact on other Acura models. As you would expect of a car costs more than $ 156,000, cowhide is slathered galore. Besides the necessary seats with Alcantara inserts (to keep your butt planted) the NSX uses a dashboard in leather, coated leather doors and center console in leather.
As seen in other high-performance cars, the NSX borrows many parts of the Honda and Acura parts bin. The shifter buttons on the steering wheel and window switches see duty in other Acura models. Take the infotainment system with two screens of the TLX would have made the table too high board, so they slid essentially the same system used in the Touring Honda Civic to deliver the first Acura with carplay and Android Auto. To reduce weight, Acura has made navigation and optional satellite radio, a movement that strikes me as penny pinching, but everyone did the same thing to save a few ounces. While some owners may complain that their supercar uses the navigation system of a subcompact, remember that Ferrari uses the same systems as the Dodge Dart and Caravan.
As we saw in the Lexus LFA, the Acura conservative philosophy is apparent even in his "thinking outside the" box car of the halo. this is manifested in everything select parts shared with other Honda and Acura models in the decision to use ELS audio system marks instead of something exotic and unproven supplier. the result is a practical interior that does not scream luxury in the same way a $ 180,000 Bentley does, but it is likely to withstand the rigors of everyday driving and parking in the sun better than the exotic average.
Acura pragmatism is immediately evident when driving the NSX on public roads. Despite Voyage similar suspension in a Ferrari 458, the suspension of the NSX's daily driver adapted in "Quiet". in fact the very existence of a fashion "Quiet" demonstrates the intention of the Acura NSX that be something that you can drive every day. Out on I-10, the NSX absorb the road imperfections, and a BMW M235i. On mountain roads, selecting Sport + changes the character of the NSX into a machine corner of the sculpture, but one that feels immediately in phase with the pilot. The "easy-going" nature of the original NSX is present in the new NSX in a way I had not expected. I'm sure it's all in my head, but every time I drive a car like a Viper or Ferrari, driving requires more attention, more "respect" and on the track, it seems that it is easier to make a wrong move. The NSX, second, and quite like a modern AWD Porsche 911, thanks to forgive cleverly programmed software.
Part of our day in the NSX was spent on a private track in the Southern California desert near Coachella. (. Yes, that Coachella) I'm not normally a fan of track racing like this, since you are not usually free to explore the limits of the capacity of a car - and for good reason. The small collection of pre-production NSXs, all labeled number 000, are the only ones that exist at present, since the plant will not start production for a few weeks. Crush one of these babies and there would be 20 percent fewer cars for the next group of journalists in the sample. So it surprised me that so little real instruction or "babysitting" was used. Mid-apex, the right seat Acura engineer said: "Just mash the accelerator" This a classic RWD 911 (NSX or for that matter) would have ended badly, but the engines before modern NSX dug in and helped. to control the NSX as the excluded ass.
in other words, the car went exactly where it was stressed.
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Acura regularly referred to capacity of the NSX to "trace" or follow the line provided on the track without additional driver input. You may remember video where a hot lap driver is practically see sawing the wheel of a car for course correction; it does not occur to the same extent in the NSX. The resulting steering feel on the track or on a winding mountain road takes some getting used to in the same way as steer-by-wire system Infiniti feels a kind against hair at first. While Infiniti corrects the "trace" by turning the steering wheel, pushing the Acura NSX around the front with the engines.
The NSX is the first hybrid that has brake feel on par with a traditional aspiration system. Acura uses a part by wire braking system that allows the software to directly control the application of the friction brakes and the regenerative before the engines. The result is the pedal feel and consistency of the deceleration of the BMW i8 can only dream of. The system's ability to control the regenerative braking on each wheel before probably added independently stable braking feeling.
With a starting price of $ 156,000, the NSX can be seen as an incredible value - or incredibly expensive. Make your choice. For the price of the NSX, you might get three well-equipped MDX crossovers or a well-equipped Porsche 911 4S. On the other hand, a Porsche 918 Spyder is astronomical $ 689,000 more. That the BMW i8? He marches to another drummer with skinny tires (for a supercar), a pure EV mode before wheel drive and a turbocharged three-cylinder engine. Although "NSX" has a cachet as a brand, I'm not sure how many Ferrari or Lamborghini faithful will jump ship.
I think the best comparison for the NSX's price tag of slots 911. The Acura Porsche between 911 and 911 Turbo 4S while the 0-60 mph performance and handling are more than Turbo 4S . Porsche has an interior that is harmonious and ever more luxurious than the NSX, and it can also be equipped with luxury car features like adaptive radar cruise control, wood trim mahogany, and 871 watts of stereo upscale ... but it won 't handle as an NSX, like a NSX or be as exclusive as NSX. With a price being a virtual wash between models, I must admit I leaned toward the NSX because of its "Look At Me!" Style, easy to live with an attitude and a large expected reliability. Will make the NSX supercar of the best buy or simply the most practical supercar available?
[Images: © 2016 Alex L. Dykes/The Truth About Cars, Acura]
Acura provided the vehicle during a launch event which was inexplicably located in Thermal, California. Transport by Southwest Airlines, accommodation and snazzy two dinners at the Ritz Carlton were also provided
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