New Acura NSX Reportedly Under Development with Plug-in Hybrid Drivetrain

After years of off-and-on rumors about whether Honda would build a successor to the NSX supercar, it now seems that such a car is under development. At the Frankfurt Motor Show and several other recent events, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito has confirmed that his company is hard at work developing a “sports car like the NSX.” A new report from Motor Trend reveals that the upcoming car could have as much as 400 hp and offer all-wheel drive.

Motor Trend posits that the new NSX would follow in the footsteps of the Honda Dualnote, a futuristic concept car unveiled at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show. The Dualnote had forward-thinking features like in-car email access, pedestrian-detection cameras, and touch-opening doors. More importantly the concept car used a mid-mounted 3.5-liter V-6 engine to power the rear wheels, and an electric motor to power the front wheels.The combination was claimed to yield 400 hp and fuel economy of 42 mpg.

The new Honda supercar will follow that strategy, with a high-revving V-6 displacing 3.5 to 3.7 liters powering the rear wheels. Out front, twin electric motors will power the front wheels with energy from a lithium-ion battery pack. The car could be recharged at home, like a plug-in hybrid.

Motor Trend’s sources say that the drivetrain will produce an incredibly powerful new car, although Honda apparently is not targeting an all-out Nürburgring lap-time machine. The body will be made of aluminum, as with the first NSX, helping keep weight low.

Styling, however, still remains a secret. Although many suggest the new car could resemble the concept readied for use in the forthcoming Avengers superhero movie, Acura representatives insist the car is but a one-off styling exercise for the movie. We can only hope some of the cues do work their way into the finished NSX.