JonBoy

I'm with hpark in terms of what I'd like to see, in general:

4.0L V8 - 450 hp, 300 ft-lbs of torque (double the S2000, roughly)
3100 lbs
$70K

I say go for the targa - while it's not a performance enhancement, most people like having that semi-convertible option and it doesn't kill the car in terms of weight or handling. Better sales in the end, I think.

That said, I think the reasonable stats will be closer to:

4.0L V8 - 380 hp, 290 ft-lbs
3200 lbs
$80K

The Hoth

One thing for sure. <300hp and 0-60 in 5.2sec ain't gonna cut it this time.

s2kpdx01

[QUOTE=MDXLuvr,Jul 12 2005, 02:37 PM]
I would say you are a bit unrealistic.

s2kpdx01

Well, if I'm dreaming then I won't be buying a NSX. If it is going to cost anywhere near the old one it should at least compete against the Z06. If not why design a new one? So you can sell 50 a year again!?!? I guess one could argue it could cost a lot less, but the press release says honda wants a
That says to me it had better be pretty damn fast, ultra high-performance means fast too me. 500HP is the new standard, if you can't hit that you aren't running with the big boys, unless you are a skinny little bastard (read: low weight).

5 word barbs are fun, I know I love em, but give your opinion.

JonBoy

Nothing out there right now can really compete with the Z06. Porsche's top-of-the-line models will have a hard time competing with it (not counting the Carrera GT, of course), much less beating it.

The point is not to compete with the Vette, unless it's the base 400 hp version. The point is more to compete with Porsche and their 997. 400 hp should be sufficient (vs. the 355 of the Carrera S) - 450 hp should allow it to whup on anything short of a Viper or C6 Z06. Probably give a Ferrari 430 a run for its money.

The new Z06, performance wise, is going to be the king of anything under $100K (maybe more). However, in terms of class, panache, sophistication, and taste, it just isn't going to work. That's why people still buy Porsches and the like. The NSX will be a little more sophisticated in every aspect, I imagine, and will compete with Porsche directly.

CBeyond

This new vehicle may be perfectly timed to coincide with Honda's planned buyout of British American Racing. Once Honda has their own 100% factory F1 team, they will have an even greater need to build and market an "ultra high performance" sportscar. They don't want to do it as an afterthought like Toyota.

steven975

The civic hybrid uses 120 D-cell Ni-MH batteries. That's about 30 pounds. Say the new NSX uses 240 for more torque/power...that's 60 pounds. Hybrids are not saddled with batteries like pure electrics.

kills sportiness my ass.

True, add in another 100 pounds for a torquey electric motor. I don't think the IMA motors weight that much at 2" thick either.

If they could do a 4.0L V8 with 450-480HP (well within Honda's means IMO) along with the low-end grunt of a decent sized 40HP elec. motor (which would provide maybe a gas+elec 450lb-ft total torque at the low-mid range) you're talking about a car with close to 500HP with the low-end of a 5-6L gas engine...along with the good mileage in relaxed driving.

I'm pretty sure the above can be done with techniques such as hydroforming at a weight at or under 3000lb.

Mutlu

I hope they use the SH-AWD drive system they have in the RL. That would make it really nice in my opinion.

eyescream

no they should keep the RWD...

lyndon_h

I agree. Almost impossible to have a V8 and AWD and under 3200lbs unless unless it a very small car or using alot of CF (which will make the car very $$$)

4.0 liter v8
450 hp 290lbs
70k