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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.

Acura Concept SUV-X is where brand should be going [w/video]

We're not saying Acura should off their Concept SUV-X for sale as-is, we're just saying we'd like to see Acuras that are interesting to look at on the outside, rather than just being packed full of technology on the inside. Revealed at the Shanghai Motor Show, the Concept SUV-X joins other compact high-rollers like the MG CS concept as an entrant for China's compact SUV segment.
But this won't be a concept forever. Acura says that the SUV-X is the precursor to a production offering from the brand in China that will come "in about three years." A presser below sheds a little more light on this and the Chinese version of the RLX that will go on sale in a few months, and there's a short video detailing some of the concept's finer points, as well.

Acura slaps $20,000 discount on 2019 NSX in an effort to sell more supercars

The new Acura NSX has struggled to move off dealer lots as of late, and Acura isn't being coy about adding incentives to its supercar. Motor Trend spotted an under-the-radar $20,000 discount, which is a substantial price slash on a car that starts at $159,300. This incentive isn't actually listed or advertised anywhere on Acura's website, but Motor Trend's Intellichoice affiliate (ownership cost and value analysis site) managed to uncover the discount. If you bought a completely base NSX, the price could be as low as $139,300 now. That's before you do any other negotiations with your dealer to lower the price further. The discount only applies to 2019 model year cars, which is actually a great thing. Acura made a bunch of small, important changes to the refreshed NSX for 2019 you can read about here. It's a better car than before, and now it's significantly cheaper than last year's model, as well. That makes the supercar a veritable steal. Acura has reportedly had this discount in effect since mid-March, and sales throughout this year have been improved versus last year — 72 NSXs had moved off lots at this time in 2018, whereas 102 have found new owners this year. That may not seem like a whole lot, but even a small uptick in supercar sales is meaningful when you're selling in such low quantities. The 2018 calendar year was the worst year in new NSX sales to date, with only 170 in total finding new homes. In 2017 Acura moved a grand total of 581 NSXs, the car's best year. If you want to actually take advantage of the discount (we envy you) then know it's scheduled to last through March 31, 2020. That's a long time to decide if you want the Japanese supercar. A 992 911 Carrera 4S ($121,660) with a few pricey options will easily be bumping into a base NSX, so your expensive sports car decision just got a little tougher. Related Video: