Acura unviels the 2013 NSX today

edkwon said:
I don't care if its AWD as long as its a proper rear-biased AWD system like any of the current mid or rear engined AWD exotics. Having that extra little traction sent to the front wheels is not a bad thing.
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An AWD can wow with grip, no doubt about it. I particularly like the AWD system that Porsche uses. But the design philosophy of this car is supposed to be fun. The old NSX wasn't even that fast. It's like a Miata - slow-ish, but fun. AWD is too serious. Even if it's 80% rear biased (without computer aid), that extra 20% front accelerative capacity is a buzz kill. It just brings the yaw rate way down to yawn. (c wat i did ther)
 
MadCat360 said:
An AWD can wow with grip, no doubt about it. I particularly like the AWD system that Porsche uses. But the design philosophy of this car is supposed to be fun. The old NSX wasn't even that fast. It's like a Miata - slow-ish, but fun. AWD is too serious. Even if it's 80% rear biased (without computer aid), that extra 20% front accelerative capacity is a buzz kill. It just brings the yaw rate way down to yawn. (c wat i did ther)
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I think you're overstating it a bit and doing too much 'apples vs oranges'. A miata is small, lightweight, low on power, its easy to have fun w that car with RWD without getting into too much trouble because its designed as quick and tossable, but not fast in the absolute sense.

A mid engined sports car with a much higher top speed and bigger mill (don't know what this new Acura will put out, just saying in general), if I was actually driving this car, I don't find a problem having a little security with a little traction in the front, because the same mistake made in a MX-5 vs a car with 3 times the power...leads to vastly different consequences. Most of us do not have Tiff Needel level talent to effortlessly drift a 400 hp car thru a wide bend without dying. I'm ok with not having that level of talent.

It's too bad that you wouldn't have as much fun w that kind of car, fortunately I still will.
 
edkwon said:
I think you're overstating it a bit and doing too much 'apples vs oranges'. A miata is small, lightweight, low on power, its easy to have fun w that car with RWD without getting into too much trouble because its designed as quick and tossable, but not fast in the absolute sense.

A mid engined sports car with a much higher top speed and bigger mill (don't know what this new Acura will put out, just saying in general), if I was actually driving this car, I don't find a problem having a little security with a little traction in the front, because the same mistake made in a MX-5 vs a car with 3 times the power...leads to vastly different consequences. Most of us do not have Tiff Needel level talent to effortlessly drift a 400 hp car thru a wide bend without dying. I'm ok with not having that level of talent.

It's too bad that you wouldn't have as much fun w that kind of car, fortunately I still will.
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Having driven the full line of Caymans and Boxsters hard and sideways, I would say that's not true. The Caymans in particular are extremely similar to the original NSX. 6 cylinders, mid engined, 3000-3200 pounds, ~300 horsepower. I can fully verify that the Caymans are every bit a fun as an MX-5 - extremely responsive, informative, and effortless. In fact I would go so far as to say that my favorite Porsche, the Boxster S, is even more fun and more perfect-handling and chuckable than any generation or incarnation of MX-5. The first time I drove one hard, I was drifting around the course chatting to my passenger about both of our racing Miatas. It was pleasant and completely unconscious, and I hadn't done more than 200 feet in the car at that point. I couldn't do that with an NC MX-5. That's not talent, that's just how the cars are. The Caymans to a slightly lesser extent, but still more natural than a Miata.

More power doesn't mean a car is harder to control. There are lots of low powered cars that are a mess, and plenty of higher powered cars that are easy. Intangibles are what determine how the car responds to slip ratio, not the amount of power. For example, the differential. An MX-5 NC with an open diff is more snappy and less predictable than a Cayman R with an LSD and twice the horsepower. Many other cars are also better or worse at informing the driver of said tire condition. Why can Tiff easily handle a Ferrari 458 but has trouble with an MP4-12C? Intangibles like feedback and to some extent sensitivity (of the car, not the driver).

On http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/tsukuba.html the NSX 3.2 (the later generation one) comes in at a 1:08.7, which is 2 tenths slower than a VW Golf R, and a tenth faster than a Honda S2000 (also not a fast car). The NSX was never designed to be fast. It's nearly a second slower than a BMW 135. That's a massive margin on Tsukuba. That's like the difference between summer tires and racing slicks.
 
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MadCat360 said:
It's got a very Audi R8 proportion to it. I approve of the looks, but I'm not convinced AWD is the best way to go. I haven't exactly heard praise for Acura AWD systems but then again, I don't hear much of anything about them at all.
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I actually get a bit of a Audi Avus vibe from it.
 
I read that as Audi Anus.

Which would make it a gay car since all Audis have cocks in them.

:clarkson: Look at me I'm a cock in my own Anus!

In other words, Audi drivers can go fuck themselves??

I think it's time for bed perhaps.
 
Good god, not only is it one of the ugliest things I've ever seen but it's pointless. But, AWD+V6 Hybrid? Fuck that shit. What a disgrace to the original namesake and all sports cars in general.
 
MWF said:
I read that as Audi Anus.

Which would make it a gay car since all Audis have cocks in them.

:clarkson: Look at me I'm a cock in my own Anus!

In other words, Audi drivers can go fuck themselves??

I think it's time for bed perhaps.
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Have you taken your meds?
 
JCE said:
Good god, not only is it one of the ugliest things I've ever seen but it's pointless. But, AWD+V6 Hybrid? Fuck that shit. What a disgrace to the original namesake and all sports cars in general.
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:roll:
 
I hope it works in similar ways to the 918. Different settings for different places. When you're going 4 miles to work, you can push a button and get there on the stored energy in the batteries and consume no fuel. And when you get to the track, push another button and have the hybrid system pretty much leave you alone - if they can put a computer system in the car that is intelligent enough to apply hybrid power to the outside wheel while using regenerative braking on the inside wheel in order to help the car turn in and corner more effectively (as the GT5 video seems to imply at 1:40-1:52), that could be very impressive.

We'll see how it turns out. I hate hybrids which are designed primarily as fuel savers because a good TDI can produce better results than some sort of over-engineered hybrid ridiculousness with $3,000 batteries, but I'm all for the idea of using hybrid technology to make a car go around corners better. If that's possible. :p
 
I think it looks kind of generic as supercars go (keeps a similar shape to the R8, MP4-12C, and, really, a whole ton of other supercars), but the AWD system actually sounds promising:

Autoblog said:
Like its forebear, this latest take on the NSX promises to shed excess weight through the use of a high-tech platform made from the latest lightweight materials. Power, as with the original, will come from a V6 mounted behind the two occupants that sends its power to the rear wheels; except this time, it will be augmented by an electric motor.

Acura's latest SH-AWD incorporates one electric motor in a dual-clutch transmission, forming a hybrid setup. Additionally, two more motors can instantly send negative or positive torque to the front wheels during cornering for improved handling and efficiency, and the whole package can be tailored via software. Acura says the new all-wheel-drive system will provide "supercar acceleration while offering outstanding efficiency."
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http://www.autoblog.com/2012/01/09/acura-nsx-concept-detroit-2012/
 
I always thought the HSC made for a good NSX:

2003-honda-hsc-concept-fa-1280x960.jpg


but this new version is a lot more futuristic and radical, which is no bad thing.
 
MadCat360 said:
Having driven the full line of Caymans and Boxsters hard and sideways, I would say that's not true. The Caymans in particular are extremely similar to the original NSX. 6 cylinders, mid engined, 3000-3200 pounds, ~300 horsepower. I can fully verify that the Caymans are every bit a fun as an MX-5 - extremely responsive, informative, and effortless. In fact I would go so far as to say that my favorite Porsche, the Boxster S, is even more fun and more perfect-handling and chuckable than any generation or incarnation of MX-5. The first time I drove one hard, I was drifting around the course chatting to my passenger about both of our racing Miatas. It was pleasant and completely unconscious, and I hadn't done more than 200 feet in the car at that point. I couldn't do that with an NC MX-5. That's not talent, that's just how the cars are. The Caymans to a slightly lesser extent, but still more natural than a Miata.
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Before we get in danger of becoming overly pedantic and weighing this thread down, we'll agree to disagree.
 
another shot from the NAIAS

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6671322565_2c39fd3556_b.jpg
 
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It's better than you could expect from the Beak Company. But it's a sort of obese Audi R8 that have eaten a Porsche Boxter.
 
The HSC was so beautiful. This is so.....Audi.

I'm really not thrilled about it so far.

Look how unique and rather gorgeous the rear end of the HSC was:

Honda+HSC+Concept,.jpg

Concept_Cars28.jpg


Honda, give us the HSC except with the HSV's V10. Job DONE.
 
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Eunos_Cosmo said:
The HSC was so beautiful. This is so.....Audi.

I'm really not thrilled about it so far.

Look how unique and rather gorgeous the rear end of the HSC was:
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Unique I can't argue with....gorgeous...that's super subjective (meaning you're entitled to think it is, but I don't find it that beautiful at all)
 
Eunos_Cosmo said:
Honda, give us the HSC except with the HSV's V10. Job DONE.
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Honda making an engine with more than six cylinders seems wrong to me. When I think Honda I think high revving lightweight engines.
 
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