2015 is a good year for the Hondaphile. The multitude of Honda fanboys have been left disappointed with the lack of general sportiness in Honda’s current lineup of motor vehicles. A case can be made for the CR-Z, but it takes an aftermarket turbo or supercharger kit to shake off the car’s eco-induced cobwebs.
But 2015 is a different story. We already told you that the Civic Type-R (CTR) will reincarnate with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The boffins at Honda are still developing the car at the Nurburgring with WTCC legend Gabriele Tarquini at the wheel. And they aim to crack the sub-eight minute barrier.
They’re persisting to break through more sorts of walls by developing a front suspension that can handle the engine’s more than 280hp thrust. Honda’s engineers admit that common knowledge says that that power is the practical limit for FWD. But tell that to the same people who developed one of the highest power-to-displacement production N/A motors ever, the F20C/F22C in the S2000.
Top Gear UK’s Jason Barlow reports that “there’s… little sign of any torque steer, so whatever they’ve done to the front suspension is effective.” That is in spite of 300 lb.ft. of torque from 2000-5000rpm.
Honda’s new NSX may not have the late great Ayrton Senna to develop chassis tuning, but it’s powerplant will not disappoint. Back when the Ferrari 348 had 300hp, Honda’s VTEC technology got the C30A V6 to eke out a respectable 270hp. But times are a-changing, and progress is constant. Ferarri’s sublime 458 now has 562hp beneath that glass cover.
The new NSX will have a ninety-degree twin-turbocharged V6 engine of currently unknown specification and output. The motor will be longitudinally mounted, a proper supercar orientation and akin to its rivals at Ferrari and Mclaren. Dry sump lubrication is standard. Did we mention it has two turbos?
Power will be transmitted via a dual-clutch transmission and Honda’s Super Handling All Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) hybrid drivetrain. The system will feature three electric motors; two of them propulsing each front wheel and the other integrated to the gasoline engine.
Iron Man’s Acura cannot come soon enough. 2015 cannot come soon enough. That’ll be the year that it will be great to be a Honda guy.
Sources: Top Gear UK, Car and Driver, Zero to Hundred, Autocar