Acura NSX 0-60 times

Re-creating an icon is one of the most difficult exercises for an automobile manufacturer. In the Honda NSX, which completely outclassed its competition field in its debut in 1990, the bar is so high that Honda five years ago completely rejected an almost finished successor model. The mid-engine sports car with an extremely powerful V10 engine did not fit conceptually into time; he could not sufficiently underline the brand's innovative power.

The engineers and designers started again with the proverbial white sheet of paper. Based on a design from Japan and decisively developed in the USA, the NSX was now designed as a hybrid sports car - although the long-distance driving under electricity was not a development goal: the necessary battery capacity would have made the NSX too heavy.

The three built-in electric motors - one on the gearbox, two on the front axle - are all about the driving dynamics: kinetic energy is recuperated, and the response to the pressure on the accelerator is so spontaneous that one feels involuntarily reminded of powerful electric cars.

This accelerates the NSX from 0 to 60 miles in 5.7 seconds and reaches a top speed of 270 km / h.

The E-engines overcompensate for the turbocharging of the engine, and when the two Mitsubishi turbochargers deliver full load pressure, the 3.5-liter V6 is positioned in the middle of the range of up to 581 hp. The maximum torque is given as 645 Newtonmeters (Nm). Honda is typically a high-speed concept; despite turbocharging, the V6 engine rotates up to 7,500 revolutions per minute (rpm).

In order to provide a particularly compact package, Honda has opted for the unusual cylinder angle of 75 degrees. Unfortunately, this also means that acoustics and treadmills in the comfortable driving programs and at low load have something to be desired; we wanted a more silky sound.

After all, it is also possible to drive without a combustor; the battery capacity is sufficient for a few electric kilometers. In this way, one can proceed very discreetly, for example, not to strain the good neighborly relations in the early morning. In the sporty driving programs, the acoustics are more convincing, aggressive and emotional, although the NSX is surprisingly reluctant compared to AMG GT and Audi R8.

The dual-clutch automatic system of the NSX has nine gears, which can also be controlled manually via the steering wheel-fixed shift paddles. With the exception of the first gear: it is only used for starting. The obvious question, whether it really really so many gears must be, answers itself at the wheel by itself: The transmission is pleasantly narrowed, the connections fit perfectly. The NSX reaches its top speed of 307 km / h in eighth gear.

The seats fit like poured and offer very good sides, and the dashboard is lovingly processed, although quite jagged. Why the knob for selecting the driving modes has been much larger than the buttons for the operation of the transmission, remains the secret of the Honda designers.

They have done an excellent job: the body, which looks somewhat generic in photos, unfolds its effect on the road through its extreme proportions. The NSX has penetrated, ready for leap; the variant driven by us in "source silver" looks as if immersed in liquid metal. The front lights of the LED shine in cold splendor.

The perfection of the new NSX is only really opening up to the competition: The Audi R8 remains arrested in the concept and design of its predecessor, its sister model Lamborghini Huracán is unfinished and rough; the Ferrari 488 Italia is nervous on the road, while Porsche clings to the rear engine concept. Whoever wants to drive a hybrid can only avoid the BMW i8. The looks even more extreme, but the Honda can drive dynamically not the water.