The Temple of VTEC has been around in some form since late 1994. I'm pretty sure "next-gen" NSX rumors have been around almost as long. At this point, the credibility of "next-gen NSX" rumors barely matters. The rumors have taken on many forms, but there has been one constant: none of them have come to fruition.

With that said, it is our duty at TOV to keep the dwindling ranks of Honda performance enthusiasts informed about whatever buzz there may be, and some time last week a new set of NSX rumors hatched on motortrend.com. I was on the road for much of last week, so by the time I saw the "news" it was a few days old and some of the details seemed a little sketchy ("Obviously it [the engine] will be of the Atkinson cycle variety" Pardon me?!) I decided to hold off on posting it.

Now AutoCar (from the UK) is singing a similar tune:

"Honda's R&D chief Mibe Toshihiro has confirmed to Autocar that work is underway to produce a new sportscar in the mould of the iconic Honda NSX"

"We are now at a point where we can consider the next generation of electric and hybrid vehicles," said Toshihiro while speaking at the Global Automotive Forum in Chengdu, China. "President Ito has already mentioned a new NSX, and we have looked at that in the R&D department. It would be an interesting project - electric or hybrid vehicles can be fun as well as economical. More than that I cannot say."

Full AutoCar piece found here: New Honda NSX confirmed

Motor Trend and AutoCar are basically saying that the new plan for the NSX is to follow the formula originated by Honda's Dual-Note and Acura DN-X* concept car. This was a concept first introduced back in 2001 at the Tokyo Motorshow. The DN-X was the Acura-badged version of the same concept, which first bowed at the 2002 New York Auto Show (*see links below). The Dualnote featured a 400hp awd powertrain, consisting of a mid-ship 3.5L DOHC i-VTEC V6 gasoline engine powering the rear wheels and electric motors powering the fronts. Torque vectoring (in the form of ATTS) was a part of the equation as well, creating a sort of hybrid SH-AWD gasoline-electric drive system. The concept specs included a clutchless 6MT transmission and a Honda-claimed 42mpg efficiency. Given (Honda CEO) Takanobu Ito's consistent message and the recent statements made by his R&D chief, productizing the 10-year old DN-X concept doesn't seem all that far-fetched. The question is, will it rekindle the flickering flame of of passion amongst Honda's core enthusiasts?

We may know soon enough, as Autocar suggests that a new concept could be shown as soon as next month at the Tokyo Motor Show, and even claims that a production version of the car could follow very soon afterwards, perhaps debuting in March at the Geneva motor show. It is said that this new halo sports car will "kick start a series of new Honda sports models".

To further whet your appetite for what the future may hold, Autocar features this splash sketch on the magazine cover:


*

Acura DN-X to make debut N.A. appearance at New York Int. Auto Show!

Acura DN-X Concept Makes North American Debut at New York International Auto Show)

Last edited by JeffX on October 12, 2011 14:53