Honda’s next supercar will not be mid-engined if this show-stealing concept coupe is anything to go by, writes Dave Moore.To get cut-through among the dozen-plus concept coupes on display at Detroit last week, you really did have to come up with something special. It seemed that just about everybody had something close-coupled and muscular on display, but Honda’s US luxury arm, Acura, managed to attract most attention with what it messily labels its Advanced Sports Car Concept, or ASCC for short.
While Honda will not confirm that the ASCC is a replacement for the much- loved but slow-selling NSX, it has put on record that the front-engined show car marks a preview of the design direction for that car’s successor. It is expected that the Tokyo Motor Show in October this year will mark the production debut of the actual NSX replacement.
The concept is designed to incorporate a powerful front- mounted, V-10 engine and a new high-performance, rear- wheel-drive based version of the Honda Legend’s much- praised “Super Handling All- Wheel Drive” (SH-AWD) chassis.
It’s certainly a sharp looker, with a long, pronounced nose while sculpted lines run the length of the body, creating a sinuous, ribbon-like effect from the front lamps to the rear wheel arch.
The ASCC holds some subtle design cues to link it with the NSX. Its slim, LED headlights are pushed wide to reprise the pop-up headlights of the first NSXs. Other styling hints include a modern take on wraparound rear taillights and an all-black cockpit.
“Our intention was to design an exotic sports car that gracefully combines advanced technology and strong emotion,” says Jon Ikeda, principal designer at the California-based Acura Design Centre. “The technical, machined surfaces and keen- edge design are balanced with sweeping curves and dramatic lines, all of which results in the ultimate exotic sports car.”
Wide, and low to the ground with a 2764mm wheelbase, the concept is anchored by 19-inch front and 20-inch rear performance tyres mounted on billet-machined, polished alloy wheels containing ventilated carbon ceramic brake discs with eight- piston callipers.
The low-slung cockpit superstructure is constructed entirely of tinted glass and sits flush along the body. The door handles are also flush mounted, allowing the car to remain aerodynamically “clean”.
The concept car has a carbon fibre underbody, quad exhaust pipes and integrated rear diffusers.
While the original NSX did not match sales numbers with the Porsche 911s with which it was meant to compete, it stirred companies like Ferrari and Lamborghini into producing turn-key supercars that could be driven without compromise day-to-day, to the extent that their products are now far more driver-friendly. The NSX enjoyed more than 15 years of production using the same basic V6 Quad cam power unit, and with only minor mechanical and cosmetic changes.
It is often forgotten that the NSX was the first modern mass-produced car to be constructed from aluminium; years before Audi and Jaguar made such marketing traction from it.
The ASCC will also make extensive use of light alloys, but will offer two-plus-two seating, giving its market a broader base than the first NSX two-seater.
The biggest task in front of the new car is that it must match the nimbleness and unimpeachable driving characteristics of the NSX, which was winner of several international handling and road-holding contests in the ’90s when it regularly embarrassed brands like those mentioned above.
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