Honda NSX In-Depth Review - A Supercar Like No Other!

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Honda tried to bring buyers in the supercar segment something a little different with its second generation NSX. Recent embelishments include chassis upgrades and mild tuning of the Sport Hybrid technology that offers an electrified boost to the throaty 3.5-litre V6, hence the impressive performance. It's a desirable package.

Background

The NSX, or 'New Sports eXperimental', sportscar was the model that really put Honda on the radar of motoring enthusiasts when it was conceived back in the 1980s with the help of one, Ayrton Senna. The Formula One World Champion famously had one in Brazil and one in Europe always available for his personal use. The car originally went on sale in 1990, but vanished from the price lists just after the turn of the century and wasn't replaced.

A successor was planned for launch in 2010, but fell foul of the recession of the time and also never saw the light of day. In 2014 though, Honda gave the green light to a small group of US-based engineers to develop a second generation model. This futuristic machine, laubched in 2016, is the result. In late 2018, the brand lightly upgraded this package to create the car we're going to look at here.

Driving Experience

The engine is a specially developed 3.5-litre V6 that in this improved model features upgraded injectors and enhancement to the heat response of the turbocharger. It still offers the same 500bhp output, which on its own wouldn't be quite enough for supercar class competitiveness, so just behind this twin turbocharged unit sits a 48bhp electric motor. Plus there are two further 37bhp electric motors, one for each wheel. The peak revs of all these various power sources don't arrive simultaneously, so peak power is 573bhp. Power is transmitted through a dual-clutch paddleshift auto gearbox with nine speeds - the first for launching you away from rest, the ninth for cruising on the highway and the seven closely-stacked ratios in-between for driving duties.

You control all of this via the NSX's drive selector. In so-called 'Quiet' mode, it'll pull away in its silent electric-only setting, but you'll be more interested in the three other options you can select - 'Sport', 'Sport+' and 'Track'. On the move, the prodigious weight of the complicated powertrain will delay you a little - this Honda tips the scales at a portly 1,725kgs - but not too much, 62mph from rest flashing by in 2.9s en route to a maximum of 191mph. And of course, plenty of aural fireworks are promised from the throaty V6. The NSX rides on two-stage magnetorheological dampers, the firmness of which depends on your drive mode selections. The brakes are track-ready, though many owners will want to opt for the extra cost ceramic stoppers.

Changes to this revised model aimed at further sharpening the handling include the adoption of larger front and rear stabliser bars, stiffer rear hubs and control-arm toe link bushings, the adoption of new Continental SportContact tyres and a recalibration of the software controlling the Sport Hybrid power unit, the steering and the stability systems. As a result of all of this, this revised NSX is said to be two seconds a lap faster than the current model around the world famous Suzuki Grand Prix circuit in Japan.

Design and Build

You can see that to some extent, the NSX designers have been influenced by an Audi R8 in the styling of this car but this Honda still manages to have its own distinctive style, with more angular lines that must incorporate all the scoops and vents necessary for no fewer than ten different radiators. Under the skin is a mixed-material spaceframe that incorporates a two-seat cabin and an engine positioned to sit longitudinally just behind it. The car's extremely wide - 2,217mm if you include the mirrors - which might make it fell a little more unwieldy than, say, a rival Porsche 911 Turbo on tighter roads.

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