Next-gen NSX likely to be entirely EV, or some other powertrain revolution
Model is as much about learning as it is about sales
After the farewell party that is the Type-S, Acura is planning to bring back the NSX, a company exec confirmed recently. For the third generation of the sports car, the trilogy will be completed as the first was gas, the second a hybrid, and the third, that same exec hinted, an EV.
“If you notice, we make an NSX when there’s something we want to say. The first gen was gas. Second-gen was a hybrid. There’s gonna be another one,” Acura VP and Brand Officer Jon Ikeda told The Drive during Monterey Car Week.
When they asked if that meant the next NSX would be an EC, Ikeda “simply replied with a smile and refused to comment further,” said The Drive, which is as close to a confirmation you can get before the company is ready to make an official announcement.
The original 1990s Acura NSX transformed the supercar market, bringing daily-driver reliability to the segment for the first time. The all-aluminum mid-engine V6 took the likes of Ferrari (and the rest of us) by surprise and may well be single-handedly responsible for today’s amazing performance monsters.
The second, though less well received, was still a technological marvel. It used electric motors to drive the front and a twin-turbo gas engine in the rear, and was hand-built at a special facility in Ohio.
While the second-gen wasn’t exactly a sales smash, that’s not always the point, Ikeda said. The executive told Motor Trend that “We didn’t go into it to make a lot of money.” Instead, it was a marketing and technology learning exercise. “We learned a lot about electrification and fun to drive which is a staple,” Ikeda told MT.
