Honda�s 600HP V10 NSX-replacement

[Plex]

Updated: Honda�s replacement for the NSX is still more than two years away but a number of key details about the car have been revealed by an inside source at Honda. According to the insider, the styling of the new car will be very similar to the Advanced Sports Car Concept from last year�s Detroit Auto Show and its future price tag will be around the $160,000 mark.

The car�s lines will favor efficiency over style, with much of the design derived from Honda�s F1 program. According to Edmunds, a prototype set a blistering Nurburgring lap time of 7m 37s on its first attempt and the final number should easily slip below 7m 30s and into Corvette ZR1 and Nissan GT-R territory.

The key to its performance is high-speed stability. The rear section of the car supposedly acts as a giant rear diffuser, designed to keep the 1,476kg (3,256lb) supercar glued to the road. The other factor in the performance equation is the car�s 5.5L V10 engine, which the insider revealed would output upwards of 600hp (450kW) and 433lb-ft (586Nm) of torque. When not at its peak, the engine will be able to deactivate half of its cylinders to save fuel and lower emissions. Drive will be sent to an uprated Super-Handling AWD system via a new six-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Original: Honda�s NSX replacement has had several false starts, with the company scrapping one of its original designs � the Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept - after the public�s largely negative response to the 2007 Detroit show car. Designers were sent back to the drawing board and Honda was forced to abandon its original plans to show the car at the following Tokyo Motor Show.

Despite the drawbacks, engineers were able to continue testing the new mechanicals for the car by using a modified S2000 body and we saw the first test-mules running laps at the Nurburgring by the middle of last year. The latest round of spy shots suggest Honda has come up with a final design for the car, as seen by this latest prototype once again spotted at the Nurburgring in Germany that�s very likely to be the replacement for the legendary Honda supercar.

Speaking with MotorAuthority back in April, Acura spokesman Mike Spencer confirmed several details of the upcoming NSX replacement. The car will definitely be powered by a V10 engine, and it will be equipped with the company�s SH-AWD system. The lack of intakes at the rear of the car also confirms the NSX replacement will feature a front-engine configuration, as opposed to the mid-engine layout of the former.

There has been some discussion of a possible four-wheel steering system (4WS) for the NSX replacement, but Spencer suggested the SH-AWD system would achieve most of the benefits of 4WS without the added complexity.

The NSX replacement is now expected to arrive sometime in 2010 as a 2011 model with final pricing expected to be revealed closer to the car�s release date.

Motorauthority