Honda said today that the 2017 Acura NSX when it launches next spring will be priced from $157,800 to $207,500. This is Acura’s first “build-to-order vehicle,” where customers can select one of eight exterior colors and four interior schemes with three different seating surfaces. Customers can also choose between three wheel designs with a painted or polished finish, carbon-ceramic brakes, a carbon fiber interior package, and a carbon fiber roof.
The NSX has been out of production since 2005 and the new car is behind schedule, but the original mid-engine car – New, Sportscar eXperimental – when it launched in August of 1990 was a serious challenge to Italian (think Ferrari 328/348) and German super cars (911 Carrera 2) of the day given its relatively low price (~$61,000 before dealer gouging on the original cars) with serious high performance capability (world class 90.7 bhp per liter; zero to 60 <6 seconds; 14 second quarter-mile) and to the horror of Euro Snobs – a Japanese company coming off of two consecutive seasons of Constructors World Championships in Formula One with McLaren.
Honda also said today it would auction the first serial production NSX, VIN 001, at the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction in Scottsdale, Arizona during the last week of January 2016. All proceeds from the auction sale will go to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Camp Southern Ground, both charities.
The original Acura NSX was built at the Takanezawa Plant in Japan from 1990 until production moved to the Suzuka Plant in early 2004, where it was produced until 2005. Part of the Tochigi Factory, the Takanezawa Plant was the first manufacturing facility in the world to mass-produce an all-aluminum body with advanced production equipment, as well as what Honda calls a hands-on “craftsman” process.
The latest NSX supercar will be produced exclusively at a new Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio inside Honda’s former North American Logistics facility that is adjacent to Honda’s Marysville auto plant. The $70 million advanced production facility has184,000 square feet and is located in the midst of Honda’s existing R&D and production engineering operations in North America.
The Performance Manufacturing Center will employ 100 skilled manufacturing employees drawn from within Honda’s existing operations in Ohio. In addition, workers at Honda’s engine plant in Anna, Ohio, will assemble the NSX powertrain. The NSX has a unique powertrain and body structure within Honda, and will be powered by a mid-mounted V6 engine mated to what is termed Sport Hybrid SH-AWD (Super Handling All Wheel Drive) system.
