2017 Honda NSX

Specifically created to bring a 'New Sports eXperience' to the supercar segment, the Honda NSX challenges prevailing beliefs about supercars, just as the first generation NSX did so comprehensively over a quarter of a century ago.

When the original Honda NSX made its debut in 1989, it forever changed the supercar segment by offering dramatic supercar styling, performance and dynamics and breaking new ground in terms of quality, ergonomics and usability.

By making use of advanced new technologies, such as a lightweight yet rigid all-aluminium monocoque body and chassis, mated to a mid-mounted transverse V6 engine, the original NSX challenged conventional supercar wisdom. Its high-revving engine featured a number of innovative production technologies, including forged pistons, titanium connecting rods and VTEC valve train.

Moreover, the NSX sought a more intimate connection between driver, car and the road, pursued through essential design elements - low vehicle mass, high power-to-weight ratio, a rigid body supporting a performance-focused chassis, outstanding visibility, exceptional ergonomics and accessible performance. The result was a paradigm-challenging definition of a supercar.

Importantly, the first generation NSX also exemplified Honda's high standards of quality, durability and day-to-day usability, without compromising performance - something rarely found in supercars of the day.

Respecting the core characteristics and differentiators of the original NSX, the new Honda NSX pursues an altogether new and revolutionary idea for Honda supercar performance, melding timeless sports car values with next-generation technologies to create a New Sports eXperience. Just as Honda's precision crafted performance DNA guided the creation of the original NSX, every aspect of this new design is accordingly a next-generation expression of those same values.

As a twenty-first century 'human-centred supercar' and the ultimate representation of Honda performance and prestige, the all-new NSX is the product of nearly four years of intensive effort by a global design and engineering team. Based on the man-machine synergy approach that guides the development of all Honda vehicles, the company created a driver-centred supercar in which every part of the vehicle is respectful of the smartest part of the car - the driver.

Foremost among its many innovations is Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive (Sport Hybrid SH-AWD), a first-of-its-kind technology in the supercar arena. By combining this new interpretation of Honda Super Handling performance with innovative approaches to vehicle design - including advanced body construction, component packaging and aerodynamic optimisation - the NSX faithfully translates the acceleration, steering and braking inputs of the driver with incredible fidelity and with instant response. It amplifies the capabilities of every driver, and greatly elevates the dynamic experience in every driving situation.

Through Sport Hybrid SH-AWD, the NSX is the world's first supercar to utilise hybrid electric motors to enhance and elevate every element of its dynamic performance: acceleration, braking and cornering. With electrically powered torque vectoring provided by the front-mounted Twin Motor Unit, the NSX takes Honda Super Handling All-Wheel Drive technology to a new level - using the dynamic, instantaneous and continuous distribution of electric motor torque to enhance the precision of handling and cornering performance in all driving situations.

The revolutionary NSX Sport Hybrid SH-AWD power unit and its advanced dynamic capabilities are supported by new concepts in supercar design and body construction. The NSX's multi-material spaceframe is a clean-sheet design, utilising a multitude of materials and joining technologies, each chosen for its unique capabilities to deliver unrivalled body rigidity in combination with low mass, outstanding visibility and class-leading occupant and crash protection. The NSX's multi-material body integrates several world-first technologies, including three-dimensionally-bent ultra-high-strength steel A-pillars and ablation-cast aluminium frame nodes.

Likewise, the design and packaging of the Sport Hybrid power unit's components - engine, transmission, motors, batteries and control systems - are optimised to support and enhance its dynamic capabilities by lowering the centre of gravity and centralising the mass within the car.

The new NSX is Honda's flagship model and the ultimate expression - in series production form - of Honda's vision for sporty and advanced vehicles. With first deliveries to European customers expected in autumn 2016, the NSX represents a critical step in re-establishing the Honda's passion for performance enabled by advanced technologies.

Dynamic exterior design integrates supercar aesthetics with supercar performance

"The idea that form follows function is fundamental to Honda design. This philosophy is interwoven in the core of NSX, which is why our exterior concept is called 'Interwoven Dynamic'," said Michelle Christensen, exterior design project leader in the Los Angeles-based Honda Design Studio. "The NSX is a visual expression of beautiful design and performance working together, influencing every decision we made - every surface, every millimetre, every design element of the new NSX is focused on enhancing performance."

The exterior design of the all-new NSX reflects the integration of supercar aesthetics and exceptional supercar performance. The 'Interwoven Dynamic' overarching design theme for the exterior architecture epitomises the concept of form following function, as every character line, body panel shape or crease, air flow inlet and outlet, and even the vehicle's overall proportions have been designed to create a New Sports eXperience. Accordingly, each aspect of the NSX's exterior architecture has been optimised to support the dynamic capabilities of the NSX while advancing Honda design into the future.

Every element of the NSX's exterior serves a distinct purpose, one that has been carefully calculated through thousands of hours of complex computational fluid dynamics (CFD), in combination with extensive wind tunnel testing of 40 percent-scale and full-size models in the company's advanced testing facilities in the United States and in Japan.

The acutely angled slope of the sculpted aluminium bonnet combines with the rakishly shaped LED headlights and tapered front grille to create an aggressive interpretation of Honda's now-familiar family face. The distinctive multi-LED headlights are bisected by enlarged mesh-covered air inlets, while the front wings are accentuated by a sharply creased character line running all the way from the grille to the slender A-pillars.

Remarkably compact overhangs, front and rear, embody the exemplary packaging of mechanical and electrical components, while the sleek yet muscular overall stance conveys a sense of purpose and power. The bonnet line, roofline, floating C-pillars and rear quarter appear as one distinctive and unified curve. The large yet lightweight high-performance wheel and tyre package fits within the wheel arches with minimal gaps to highlight the taut proportions.

The rear of the vehicle is equally striking, emphasised by the signature floating C-pillars, which cascade gently from the roofline to forward of the integrated spoiler at the tailing edge of the rear deck, flanking an expansive glass panel that reveals the twin-turbocharged V6 engine.

Further accentuating the exterior architecture of the new NSX are a choice of eight paint schemes, each carefully selected to accentuate the exterior's bold design while achieving the highest levels of paint quality within the supercar segment.