2016-18 NSX, new s2000, and Civic R
03-09-2016, 08:58 AM
#33
http://jalopnik.com/hondas-consideri...=1457534398592
"This is not a new idea. In fact, we’ve been pretty sure they’ll give the new Acura NSX a red badge at some point since the Civic Type R came out last year. That could involving making Honda’s limited edition supercar rear-wheel drive and a bit more hardcore with active aero as well.
That’s what the UK’s Autocar says is under consideration these days. The current NSX’s electric-hybrid system weighs 330 pounds, and while Honda would have to keep the starter motor, the flywheel and the rear drive motor as an alternator, getting rid of the rest—including the batteries and the all-wheel drive—while also cutting weight would still make the NSX considerably lighter than it is today at 3,802 pounds.
In other words, still a hybrid, just a lighter rear-drive one.
Nick Robinson, Dynamic Development Leader on the NSX project also told Autocar that they do have a maintenance mode on the current car which switches off the ABS and all electric motor assistance, turning it into a “drift machine” with a slightly odd handling due to the fact that it is calibrated to work in conjunction with driven front wheels. "
"This is not a new idea. In fact, we’ve been pretty sure they’ll give the new Acura NSX a red badge at some point since the Civic Type R came out last year. That could involving making Honda’s limited edition supercar rear-wheel drive and a bit more hardcore with active aero as well.
That’s what the UK’s Autocar says is under consideration these days. The current NSX’s electric-hybrid system weighs 330 pounds, and while Honda would have to keep the starter motor, the flywheel and the rear drive motor as an alternator, getting rid of the rest—including the batteries and the all-wheel drive—while also cutting weight would still make the NSX considerably lighter than it is today at 3,802 pounds.
In other words, still a hybrid, just a lighter rear-drive one.
Nick Robinson, Dynamic Development Leader on the NSX project also told Autocar that they do have a maintenance mode on the current car which switches off the ABS and all electric motor assistance, turning it into a “drift machine” with a slightly odd handling due to the fact that it is calibrated to work in conjunction with driven front wheels. "
03-09-2016, 06:44 PM
#34
http://blog.caranddriver.com/911-syn...pe-r-variants/
Acura desperately wants its new NSX to be taken seriously in the supercar realm, and one measly variant won’t do when Porsche offers upwards of 20 versions of the 911. To that end, both a convertible NSX and a track-ready NSX Type R might be in the cards, according to a report in Autocar.
This info comes straight from NSX development engineer Nick Robinson, who told Autocar that Honda wants to create a lightweight, hardcore NSX to live up to the hallowed “Type R” badge. This reportedly would involve a use of more exotic materials to cut weight, possible active aerodynamics, and even a reworked drivetrain that could make the car rear-wheel drive.
The standard Acura NSX uses a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 along with three electric motors, two in front and one in the rear, that give the car all-wheel drive. Cutting out the dual front electric motors and their associated batteries would save plenty of pounds, although the rear electric motor likely would remain. There’s even a precedent for a rear-drive NSX (other than the original, of course): One of the modified Acuras set to race the Pikes Peak hill-climb apparently does without the hybrid machinery, and uses a more powerful version of the V-6 with electric superchargers to supplant the twin turbos. Robinson also let on that the existing NSX has a sort of “cheat mode” that disconnects the front motors and turns the car into a “drift machine.” Sounds plenty enticing to us.
Acura desperately wants its new NSX to be taken seriously in the supercar realm, and one measly variant won’t do when Porsche offers upwards of 20 versions of the 911. To that end, both a convertible NSX and a track-ready NSX Type R might be in the cards, according to a report in Autocar.
This info comes straight from NSX development engineer Nick Robinson, who told Autocar that Honda wants to create a lightweight, hardcore NSX to live up to the hallowed “Type R” badge. This reportedly would involve a use of more exotic materials to cut weight, possible active aerodynamics, and even a reworked drivetrain that could make the car rear-wheel drive.
The standard Acura NSX uses a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 along with three electric motors, two in front and one in the rear, that give the car all-wheel drive. Cutting out the dual front electric motors and their associated batteries would save plenty of pounds, although the rear electric motor likely would remain. There’s even a precedent for a rear-drive NSX (other than the original, of course): One of the modified Acuras set to race the Pikes Peak hill-climb apparently does without the hybrid machinery, and uses a more powerful version of the V-6 with electric superchargers to supplant the twin turbos. Robinson also let on that the existing NSX has a sort of “cheat mode” that disconnects the front motors and turns the car into a “drift machine.” Sounds plenty enticing to us.
05-19-2016, 09:03 AM
#35
Talk of a new Honda sports car will not die. Although we now know that the tiny S660 roadster will not come to America, and a speculated mid-engine sports car positioned below the Acura NSX is probably not happening, the prospect of a reborn S2000 roadster is gaining steam. And it could arrive in 2018, as the company’s present to itself for its 70th anniversary....
more...
http://blog.caranddriver.com/rumor-h...2000-roadster/
05-20-2016, 02:56 PM
#36
Not only do the rumors that the Honda S2000 may be making a comeback appear to be true, it looks like the car will be returning just in time for Honda Motor Company's 70th anniversary. Granted, you're traditionally supposed to give platinum for a 70th anniversary, but we like Honda's idea way better.
According to a report from Car and Driver, the beloved rear-wheel-drive roadster could be back on the market as soon as 2018. The proposed timing would be a nice callback to the debut of the original S2000, which arrived for Honda's 50th anniversary in 1998. (Yes, it has been 18 years since the S2000 first appeared. And yes, that is terrifying.)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/honda-pla...200000757.html
According to a report from Car and Driver, the beloved rear-wheel-drive roadster could be back on the market as soon as 2018. The proposed timing would be a nice callback to the debut of the original S2000, which arrived for Honda's 50th anniversary in 1998. (Yes, it has been 18 years since the S2000 first appeared. And yes, that is terrifying.)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/honda-pla...200000757.html
05-20-2016, 05:41 PM
#37
Ask a bunch of Honda fans about the cars they so dearly miss and you’ll begin to see a clear trend—unanimous longing for the late-great S2000 roadster.
Birthed into the world in 1999 (for the 2000 model year), the Honda S2000 was everything you could want in a sports car. It made the right noises, went like the clappers, drove like an extension of your body, and revved to a searing 9,000 rpm. But by 2009 it had become fairly long-in-the-tooth, and it was killed off, never to return again. Until now?
Rumors of the S2000’s return have swirled ever since it left, yielding no successors as of yet, but now Car and Driver says one’s on the way, and their source makes a compelling case.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/report-sa...200317268.html
08-13-2016, 12:10 AM
#38
Honda Files Trademark For ZSX, Baby NSX Rumor Mill Kicks Into Overdrive
https://www.yahoo.com/news/honda-fil...181500234.html
Honda's long-rumored small sports car may finally have a moniker. Last month, Honda filed a trademark for the name "ZSX"—which, for obvious reasons, has launched a wave of speculation amongst car enthusiasts that the title could be bound for a baby NSX.
After all, Honda—more specifically, its Acura division—has been known to share the latter two letters in its three-letter sobriquets amongst a single category of product. The carmaker's SUVs all end in -DX, while the sedans all end in -LX. Considering the global goodwill the name NSX has cultivated over the last three decades, tapping -SX for future sports cars seems like an obvious choice.
A trademark or copyright filing in and of itself doesn't necessarily mean a company has plans to bring whatever it's locking down to market; consider Mercedes-Benz's bizarre four-door SLS AMG, Toyota's flying car, or 90-plus percent of the Apple rumors you've read. But this recent trademark, filed at the end of July with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, comes on the heels of numerous reports that Honda is working on a small sports car.
Honda's past may be filled with sports cars and sporty machines, but its present lineup is rather staid. Apart from the NSX, the sportiest model in the current Honda roster is the Civic Type R; beyond that, there's the Accord V-6 Coupe, the Civic Si, and...well, that's pretty much it. And with the NSX costing around three times as much as the next-most expensive car in the Honda/Acura fleet, it's more of an outlier than an example of the carmaker's overall sportiness............"
https://www.yahoo.com/news/honda-fil...181500234.html
Honda's long-rumored small sports car may finally have a moniker. Last month, Honda filed a trademark for the name "ZSX"—which, for obvious reasons, has launched a wave of speculation amongst car enthusiasts that the title could be bound for a baby NSX.
After all, Honda—more specifically, its Acura division—has been known to share the latter two letters in its three-letter sobriquets amongst a single category of product. The carmaker's SUVs all end in -DX, while the sedans all end in -LX. Considering the global goodwill the name NSX has cultivated over the last three decades, tapping -SX for future sports cars seems like an obvious choice.
A trademark or copyright filing in and of itself doesn't necessarily mean a company has plans to bring whatever it's locking down to market; consider Mercedes-Benz's bizarre four-door SLS AMG, Toyota's flying car, or 90-plus percent of the Apple rumors you've read. But this recent trademark, filed at the end of July with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, comes on the heels of numerous reports that Honda is working on a small sports car.
Honda's past may be filled with sports cars and sporty machines, but its present lineup is rather staid. Apart from the NSX, the sportiest model in the current Honda roster is the Civic Type R; beyond that, there's the Accord V-6 Coupe, the Civic Si, and...well, that's pretty much it. And with the NSX costing around three times as much as the next-most expensive car in the Honda/Acura fleet, it's more of an outlier than an example of the carmaker's overall sportiness............"
08-15-2016, 03:21 PM
#39
[quote name='Picturepro' timestamp='1471075827' post='24038471']
Honda Files Trademark For ZSX, Baby NSX Rumor Mill Kicks Into Overdrive
https://www.yahoo.co...-181500234.html
"Automoto claims an insider says the new ZSX will be a mid-engined hybrid, much like its bigger brother, combining the Civic Type R's turbo I-4 with electric motors front and rear for a peak effective output of roughly 370 horsepower."
Sounds like a hell of a car, if it ever happens. Unfortunately, for me, Honda waited too long. I'm a Corvette guy now.
Honda Files Trademark For ZSX, Baby NSX Rumor Mill Kicks Into Overdrive
https://www.yahoo.co...-181500234.html
"Automoto claims an insider says the new ZSX will be a mid-engined hybrid, much like its bigger brother, combining the Civic Type R's turbo I-4 with electric motors front and rear for a peak effective output of roughly 370 horsepower."
Sounds like a hell of a car, if it ever happens. Unfortunately, for me, Honda waited too long. I'm a Corvette guy now.