How does it feel to follow up on Magnum Opus? If you make something that reaches universal praise from critics and peers, how can you revive the miracles that you value at one time when everything comes together and produces your biggest work? Different artists throughout history have different responses; Wolfgang Mozart became depressed in his life when he struggled to revive the success of teenagers – when he had become the most famous pianist in Western Europe – and somehow still managed to write a magical flute in his final year. He rediscovered how to create a great work, even after the decline that almost destroyed it.
Acura needs to answer its own version of this question in a burning way. The brand was launched on the coast of America in 1986 with the Medley of Sports Coupes and sedans. It was a way for Honda to enter the luxury performance market, with cars such as Integra and legend aiming for the dominant German benchmark. But in 1990, Acura determined its view higher than the BMW M3 or Mercedes-Benz 190 E: Only four years after his debut as a company, he released Acura NSX Ferrari-benchmarked.
Immediately after the arrival of the creation of the engine equipped with VTEC, Aluminum-Monocoque, Handbuilt, Acura really redefined the sports car in a way that had no Japanese car maker since Datsun 240z. It received almost universal praise. Contemporary reviews shine praise; Gordon Murray itself every day – driving one and using the NSX as the target of handling it for legendary McLaren F1.
If Skyline GT-R Nissan is Godzilla from its generation, dominating the race track and leaving the podium trail behind it, then NSX is a mechanism sent to fight it. The perfect blend of revolutionary technology and the involvement of pilots to fight cars is far from the heavyweight and become a hero of doing it.
Unfortunately, of course, good things cannot survive forever, especially in the automotive industry, and Acura wore NSX in 2005. There was no replacement that arrived for more than a decade, and the Acura showroom was underestimated without hello. Finally, in 2016, the second generation NSX reached a dealer, again promising to include Ferrari at notifications for a fraction of the price and doubling the technical budget.
In the form of true NSX, it is an instant heavy beat on the edge of bloody technology. Where the previous generation uses CAMS tricks on v6 sucked naturally and adds light to remain in front of the Supercar competition, the second generation displays the hybrid-electric-electric-electric system combined with twin-turbo 3.5L v6, together pumping 573 Horsepower to fourth corner. The entire drivetrain is very advanced, especially for a supercar sub-200k which is still drive and functions like other Honda around the city.
However, in the form of a non-true NSX, follow-up never matches Opus. NSX is generally very popular with most reviewers (including Chris Davies ourselves), but it is not an icon for a new generation of supercars like its predecessor. This technology is still at the forefront, but it is rejected by many people as further separation between the driver and emotion; Reduce the famous senna heel legs work through the angular Suzuka rather than, basically, a very fast version of insight.
And to listen to the initial marketing encouragement of Acura, you will be forgiven for thinking that is also a car maker. Advertisements and press releases both show better points of Rotisserie construction. Where NSX starts NSX pursuing dreams, the new NSX offers a performance vision made with precision that loses the ambition of aspirational underdogs from its original namesake.
Did NSX drove in a truly boring way really beside the point. Acura itself doesn’t seem to understand what the original NSX means. They have built a successor that in the public eye is a very expensive technology demonstration platform with polite exhaust. This might be unfair, yes, but also means that Acura will not make this mistake again for the final sender for the second generation NSX.