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2019 Acura NSX vs. 1991 Acura NSX | Respect your elders

A car that forces the competition to head back to the drawing board does not come around often, especially when that competition happens to be Ferrari. Honda achieved such a feat back in 1991 when the original NSX was set loose in the supercar world. Not only did the NSX smack its contemporaries down in terms of performance and technological prowess, it also forced the Italians to make supercars with some semblance of reliability and manners. Spend only a few moments in an original NSX, and its specialness is palpable. The lack of power steering is acutely noticeable at low speed as I roll over little cracks and dips in the road, while the sticky rubber chucks small rocks up into the wheel wells. A near 360-degree view is at my disposal with the bubble-like canopy, and the ground right in front of the nose is visible from my vantage point. This is what control feels like, and we haven't even gotten to the reverie-inducing VTEC noises getting piped right into our eardrums yet. There are no dials to change the throttle response, no buttons to make the steering artificially heavy, no shift paddles behind the wheel to tell a computer to swap cogs. To my right is a manual shifter that can legitimately be described as perfect. This is a 1991 Acura NSX, and it is glorious. For some of the reasons I've briefly described, and plenty more, this car has reached legend status amongst enthusiasts. In the early 2000s it was a sales disaster, outgunned by pretty much every other supercar in the space. Honda/Acura was only working with a 3.2-liter V6 making 290 horsepower when that car finally met its maker after the 2005 model year. As collectable modern classics, the relatively low power output doesn't seem to bother folks spending close to, and over, six digits on low-mileage examples of these cars. What changed? Well, the passage of time tends to be the biggest factor in these things. Also, there's a new NSX out there, reminding the world that the old one exists. And just like when Acura discontinued the original, the new one is mighty expensive, selling in extremely low numbers, and generally regarded as lesser than other options in its class. This time around it has to deal with standout cars like the 911 GT3, McLaren 570S and Audi R8 V10. But perhaps even worse than that, the new NSX must withstand comparisons to the original. Can you think of any other legendary Japanese car with a similar image problem today? Yeah, the Toyota Supra.

Five signs Honda cares about enthusiasts, again

It's a great time to be an enthusiast. From high-horsepower Hellcats to the purist BRZ, engaging automobiles are found in nearly every segment of the market. Everyone wants to join the performance parade. Everyone it seemed, but Honda. The company that built some of Formula One's most successful engines, helped launch the tuner market and gave the world a seminal supercar, has watched competitors of all stripes surge by it for the hearts, minds and dollars of enthusiasts. Until now. Honda put the rest of the auto world on notice at the New York Auto Show, revealing a jaw-dropping Civic concept, confirming the Type R will come to the United States and even adding a hatchback to the 2016 Civic line. Throw in the Acura NSX and much-improved ILX for Honda's luxury sibling, and it's undeniable the company is regaining its swagger. Once again, Honda is serious about performance, and here's five reasons why enthusiasts should believe. The Honda Civic Concept Looks Great We're psyched about the Civic concept, which was a surprise reveal earlier this month at the New York Auto Show. Clad in bright neon green, the concept edged out the Lincoln Continental for first place in our Editors' Choice awards at the show. As Editor-in-Chief Sharon Carty put it, "The color hurts so good." Yes, the green is blinding, but you don't have to squint to see the 10th generation of the Civic. Honda's concepts are the real deal, and this is the car (mostly) that will launch this fall. It's attractive, with a long hood, curvaceous sides and a simple but sporty grille. The powertrain lineup will include a 1.5-liter VTEC turbo four-cylinder paired with a six-speed manual, which should be a treat for enthusiasts. With its fresh looks and intriguing mechanicals, the concept previews an everyday driver you can get excited about. Obviously, we are. The Hatchback Returns Yep, the Civic is getting a five-door hatch in the United States. It's been a while. Honda last offered a Civic hatch for a brief time in the mid-2000s, and only as the lower-volume Si model. The new hatch will be produced at Honda's factory in the United Kingdom and imported to the United States. That's a win-win for Honda: it's using excess capacity in the UK to satiate a niche market for US buyers. The annual hatch production is reportedly expected to be 30,000 to 40,000 units, which is a drop in the bucket for the Civic lineup and its massive though declining sales.

2020 Acura NSX Suspension Deep Dive

The Acura NSX has been a special car as long as I’ve been in the business. The first one came out in 1990, the same year I started my career in automotive engineering. I vividly remember driving one briefly back then when we brought one in for benchmarking. I'd drive it again 22 years later when my previous employer bought a used 1991 example for a long-term test. Reader interest was sky-high and the car was still gorgeous, but the march of time and automotive engineering had clearly left it behind. Then, in 2016, a second-generation NSX emerged, and it was packed with bleeding-edge thinking. It has a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6, but this new NSX is a hybrid with an electric motor-generator sandwiched between the engine and its nine-speed DCT transmission. Two more electric motors – one for each wheel – power the front axle. There they can add traction, regenerate electricity under braking and dole out hyper-accurate levels of torque vectoring. The carÂ’s tire package was changed from Continental SportContact 5 to SportContact 6 tires in 2019, and numerous suspension re-tuning tweaks came along with them. The result is a lively and well-balanced car that is relentless when driven hard and a pussycat around town. LetÂ’s see what theyÂ’ve got going on under there.   At first glance the 2020 Acura NSX appears to have dual wishbone front suspension. But we canÂ’t tell for sure because that big two-piece brake rotor is in the way. The coil-over shock looks obvious, but a few odd details are apparent even from here.   This view also seems to indicate double wishbone suspension. But the pivot axis (green arrow) between the upper and lower ball joints looks wrong – itÂ’s far too vertical. WeÂ’re missing something. But I would be remiss if I failed to point out a few other things before we moved on. For one, the front drive axle confirms this to be an all-wheel-drive machine. Second, the forged aluminum damper mounting fork (yellow) that envelops the axle is mounted to the lower arm about 75% out from the armÂ’s inner pivot. The spring and damper motion ratio would be 0.75-to-1 relative to wheel movement, with a tiny reduction due to its lean angle. Lastly, just look at the huge cast aluminum upright (white). Beautiful. Normally these are called hub carriers or steering knuckles, and I use the terms interchangeably. But the motorsports-derived term upright is normally applied when the piece is tall and, well, upright like this one.   This explains everything.