Temple of VTEC Rumors and News - Next-gen NSX, TSX, Accord, Fit, and more sketches from a Japanese "Scoop" Magazine

Long time contributor and TOV member Mike Freitas just sent me the September issue of Japan's "HolidayAuto" magazine and as you'll see below it's chock full of those fun speculative sketches of a lot of vehicles (not just Hondas). Given its trans-Pacific and then trans-continental travel history, the information here is probably at least a few months old by now, so keep that in mind when reading through this info. It's quite possible that some of it has been superceded by now.

Mike's wife was kind enough to translate some of the key Honda items mentioned in the magazine.

	The NSX gets top billing in the magazine with a two page spread. The magazine's editors seem to think that it will make a debut in some form in January 2007 at the upcoming North American International Auto Show in freezing Detroit, with the production car being introduced (in Japan, at least) in October of 2008. What's interesting is that unless I'm misreading the translation that was provided, it appears that the NSX won't offer SH-AWD, but it will provide seating for 4, a 500hp 5.0L V10 and available manual or automatic transmissions. The performance is said to rival BMW's M6. Oh, and the price is said to be set at around 15M Yen, which at current exchange rates (~118Y/$) would put it over $125000.
	Depicted here on page 16 is the magazine's guess at the next-generation TSX. As we've been hearing (and reporting) for quite a while, the motor is said to be a 2.3L Turbo or 2.2L Diesel, connected to the road via SH-AWD. They're showing an intro date of September 2008 and an autoshow debut date of October 2007 at the Tokyo Motor Show. *Say What?!?* This September 2008 introduction date does not jive with prevailing intelligence which to this point has pointed towards a calendar year '07 intro date for the next generation TSX in the U.S. Possible Explanation: The date shown in this magazine is merely representative of when the TSX will appear in Japan. Acura as a brand doesn't currently exist in Japan, but according to industry reports, it's scheduled to launch in late 2008, which would explain a "delayed" introduction of the TSX.
	On page 19, we see a depiction of the next generation Fit. From what I can piece together from the text, it's scheduled for release in Japan sometime in June of 2007. The design looks interesting, but I wonder if that 2007 CR-V-inspired grille will stir up any controversy...
	Perhaps we will gain an assist from one of our Japanese readers because I don't know anything about what this little guy is all about. Based upon the only Roman characters I could pick out of the text, I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say what you're looking at is a next generation mini-UTE, which will be positioned against the Suzuki SX4 and will replace the HR-V, with an introduction date of February of 2007. Check out the shrinky dink Element styling...
	I'm not sure what's being said here, either, but it appears the Civic Type R sedan will debut in Japan in February of 2007, and it appears that it will feature a 220hp K20 motor and 6MT. The text refers to a K20A but it's my understanding that K20A production has ceased, so it will probably be some K20Z variant (not that there's a tremendous difference). As a quick side note, the European Type R website launches officially on Sept. 14th, so be sure to check out www.redh.co.uk. At the top of that page is some Toyota thing that I'm guessing is supposed to take on the BMW 1-class and Audi A3. I skimmed the text and see a reference to a 3.5L V-6 but I'm thinking it must be referencing something else because I can't see Toyota cramming something that big into something in that class, but who knows? There's also a reference to a 2.4L 4-cylinder, which sounds more reasonable.
	If this sketch is accurate, it appears that the next generation Accord will borrow its styling from the current Civic sedan, which launched last year. I'm not the biggest fan of the new Civic sedan's styling, but most of that is because I think it's a little too stubby looking. Given the larger proportions of the Accord, perhaps the Accord will be able to pull off the look much better. According to Mrs. Freitas, there's not much info in the magazine besides the fact that it may launch with a 3.5L V6 and 2.4L 4-cylinder. I see a 3L V6 also appears to be mentioned in the text, but perhaps it simply says that the current 3.0 will be replaced by a 3.5L. The magazine is showing a September 2007 introduction date for the '08 Accord, which is no surprise.

Special thanks to Mike and Mrs. Freitas for this submission.