How the new Honda NSX learned from Japan's original supercar
The Honda NSX is one of the very few cars universally adored by all
tribes of enthusiasts. A bit like someone who always brings biscuits
into the office, nobody has a bad word to say about it.
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The trouble with producing a model that becomes so intertwined with car
culture is that when the time comes to build a successor, you’ll have
some very big shoes to fill. It took Honda a decade to create a new NSX, a project that was started several times over until the Japanese marque was satisfied with the outcome.
Reborn
as the first real hybrid supercar - technology only previously seen in
the likes of the McLaren P1, LaFerrari, and Porsche 918 - the new NSX
bristles with technology. However, the old NSX lacked all of this
techno-genius, and people quite liked how pure a machine it was. So,
naturally the new cars ‘armchair critics’ decreed that the pair were
related in name alone.
We’ve brought together one of the very
last first generation NSX to meet one of the first of the new. The aim
of this father and son reunion? To find out what exactly makes an NSX;
is there some form of genetic code for success?
I wont bang on
about the Ayrton Senna connection to the development of the first NSX as
we were all read that tale as children — but obviously the legend is
part of what makes an NSX what it is. This Imola Orange Honda is one of
the very last cars to be produced before production ended in 2005 after
15 continuous years on sale. It benefits from revisions Honda made over
the years including a more powerful 3.2-litre V6 VTEC engine and more
focused suspension — although it did lose those ever-cool pop-up
headlights.
Sat inside the 2005 car’s cockpit, the first
thing that you notice is the astonishingly good visibility. Inspired by
the 360 degree vision offered by an F16 fighter jet, the NSX glasshouse
gives a near unrivalled view of the world around you. This boosts
confidence when it comes to picking you line through sequence of bends
just as much as it does when parking. The ergonomic pros of the interior
continues throughout, as does a sense that nothing is going to fall off
in your hand. Welcome to one of the first supercars you could genuinely
use everyday.
In motion the classic NSX lives up to its
reputation. As a driver you feel truly connected to what is going on
beneath you, communication coming thick and fast through the cars wheel
and chassis. The balance through fast bends and accuracy of the steering
makes you feel like you could hit just about any apex of your choosing.
A beautifully mechanical manual gearshift rewards with every change as
does that rev-happy VTEC engine that dares you to take it to the
8,300rpm redline. It’s a machine that’s all about driver involvement and
brilliant engineering execution.
The new car certainly
looks the part of a modern-day supercar with its origami inspired
creases that make it so distinctive. On the visuals alone this has what
it takes to square up to todays supercar elite. However, it’s what’s
under the skin that makes this NSX something of a forerunner. Supporting
the twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 is an advanced all-wheel drive
system, a battery, and a trio of electric motors that deliver several
benefits. Firstly, total output is an impressive 573bhp and 476lb ft
when combined. Next, that battery can torque fill while the turbos take a
second to spool - eliminating turbo lag. Then there’s the bit that
keeps environmentalist happy by running on pure electric when pottering
around town. It’s this innovative tech that means Honda is ahead of the
curve in this segment.
The interior, as you’d expect, has many
more gadgets than its predecessor, but still retains that amazing
peripheral visibility. I can not overstate how the dream of driving a
supercar can immediately become a nightmare when you continuously worry
about blindspots the size of Texas. However, while it might be
ergonomically sound, the likes of Porsche and Ferrari beat it in terms
of material quality and overall practicality. But you don’t want me to
go on about its small and curiously warm luggage compartment, you want
to know how it drives.
I’m sure many assume that the new
NSX is aimed at the Playstation generation and that it will simply use
its clever all-wheel drive to get you out of trouble. Honda
still believes that the driver is the central nervous system of the
car, and so if you act like a ham-fisted oaf and mash the throttle out
of a junction, the car will break traction. Of course there’s a myriad
of safety systems to keep you out of a hedge, but you still need to be
mindful that this is a 573bhp car. It’s the same story when tackling a
challenging series of bends.
The NSX continuously shuffles the
power around all four wheels to boost traction, but what you do with it
is ultimately up to you. Thankfully precise steering and great control
weights gives you mastery over this performance and the easy to modulate
carbon brakes do a great job of keeping things under control. It’s
certainly an involving thing to drive quickly and it becomes apparent
that the technology only serves to enhance the fun, not kill it. Sure,
the old car is a more physically demanding thing to operate and sounds
far superior, but the new model maintains the NSX’s reputation as a
grin-inducing experience.
These cars are separated by decades,
were born in totally different eras with different expectations placed
upon them. However, their mission and attitude to it remains the same.
NSX stands for New Sports car eXperimental, an engaging machine that
challenges convention and points in the direction of progress. This pair
proves that blood is indeed thicker than water.
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Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/honda-nsx-learned-japan-apos-134500742.html
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