NSX street car production – which racing efforts are publicizing – is scheduled in 2015 for Acura’s next-generation, mid-engine sports car.
Honda this morning unveiled an NSX Concept-GT that is destined for entry in the 2014 Super GT Series in Japan. This version of the NSX complies with the regulations on GT500 vehicles by the Japan Automobile Federation. Along with a 2-liter direct-injection 4-cylinder turbo engine, the NSX is equipped with what’s called a racing hybrid system.
This latest announcement follows the debut of an Acura NSX racing prototype that lapped the 2.4-mile road course at Mid-Ohio this month. (Acura NSX Prototype at Mid-Ohio Race in August) Honda Performance Development, aka HPD, the racing arm of American Honda Motor Company, also said it is continuing its customer LMP1 endurance sports car racing with the 2014 introduction of a new turbocharged V6 engine. A revised rules package for WEC in 2014 means HPD has to introduce a new powertrain for private teams engaged in top-level endurance sports-car racing, and its most famous race at Le Mans.
Honda will not compete directly in endurance racing against Toyota, which has been running factory hybrid cars in the fastest, most expensive P1 class for two years against Audi, which has dominated endurance racing in recent years with its diesel cars. Things get more competitive when Porsche returns to endurance racing next year with a mega-euro factory effort.
HPD also takes part in both the American Le Mans Series (the company took all manufacturer, engine, team and driver awards in the 2012 ALMS LMP1 and LMP2 categories) and as stated the FIA World Endurance Championship, winning the inaugural LMP2 World Championship in 2012, along with the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (Honda Returns to Formula One Racing in 2015 and Honda Prepares 2014 Endurance Racing Engines)
Street car production – which the racing efforts are publicizing – is scheduled during 2015 for Acura’s next-generation, mid-engine sports car. Acura announced in 2012 that the NSX would be powered by a mid-mounted, direct-injected V6 engine and a Sport Hybrid SH-AWD (Super Handling All-Wheel Drive in marketing babble) system.
SHAWD is a three-motor high-performance hybrid system that combines torque vectoring all-wheel drive – one motor integrated with the V6 engine and its dual-clutch transmission (boo) that drives the rear wheels, and two independent motors driving the front wheels. The system enables instant delivery of negative or positive torque to the front wheels during cornering to achieve what Honda claims is a new level of driving performance unparalleled by current AWD systems.
