NSX prototype to lap Mid-Ohio before IndyCar race (Update)
07/25/13
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| Acura NSX Prototype |
Acura has just tweeted its first official teaser of an NSX prototype. Just before the Honda Indy 200 IndyCar Series race in Ohio on August 4, Acura says a running NSX prototype will lap the road course. With blacked-out headlights and a covered-up power-plenum front grille, the Acura NSX prototype racer is our first look at a car that could boost the brand’s image if it’s successful on the track; the production-spec Acura NSX arrives in the 2015 calendar year.
Acura’s mid-engined NSX is coming, and it may have the advanced technology and performance to compete with hypercars costing far more money. With so-called Sport Hybrid Super Handling All Wheel Drive, the NSX will be capable of predicatively responding, head engineer Ted Klaus once told us. The NSX prototype on the track is shown here.
The new Acura NSX will be powered by a mid-mounted V-6 mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, with an electric motor driving the rear wheels and the front wheels getting two additional motors for torque-vectoring under acceleration. The power-to-weight ratio should be around or lower than 6 lb/hp to match the Ferrari 458 Italia, and a detuned version of the hybrid technology should show up in an all-wheel-drive RLX flagship sedan, too.
As we’ve pointed out before, the new Acura NSX will be designed, developed, and built in the U.S. At the 2013 Detroit auto show, Acura introduced a revised NSX concept, with a driver-focused interior said to be comfortable yet lightweight. Don’t be surprised to see Acura continue to tease the NSX before its debut, especially considering how long NSX prototypes have been in development. Motor Trend