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Acura NSX will use Cosworth block, plus other neat tidbits

The blue NSX you see here was built just two weeks ago. Prototype number six, it rolled off Acura's newest assembly line in Ohio and was rushed out to the Monterey peninsula for various car week activities. We had a chance to sit down with several members of the NSX team to discuss the car, the long road from concept to production, and some interesting details. Below are some choice bits from our conversations. Acura is pretty proud of the fact that NSX version 2.0 was designed and is being built in the US. The new assembly line, called the Performance Manufacturing Center, is in Honda's hometown of Marysville, Ohio. While the line is brand new, the building has seen many uses over its lifetime, most recently as a warehouse facility. PMC staff numbers about 100, with 60 technical and 40 non-technical associates. The car uses parts sourced globally, and one of those sources is Cosworth. The engine blocks and heads come from the English firm and get assembled into twin-turbo powerhouses at Honda's nearby Anna, Ohio, engine plant. The Cosworth name is rarely associated with a bad engine, so we were geeked to hear the NSX's 550-plus-horsepower hybrid powertrain has good genes. Acura hasn't decided how many cars will come to the US each year, but supplies will be limited. We're told there is a total figure for global sales – basically anywhere Honda and Acura vehicles are sold – but they're not ready to divulge that number. Dealer allocation is also yet to be sorted out, although we're told that any dealer that has the necessary tools and equipment to service the new NSX will be able to sell them. Acura currently has 272 US dealers. The switch from the transverse engine originally planned to a longitudinal twin-turbo engine threw everyone involved for a loop. The designers had to lengthen their nearly finalized design, and the engineers working on the production process had to revise or redo much of their work. Though we've been waiting a while for the car since the concept first surfaced in 2012, it's pretty amazing to think that the car was engineered one and a half times and a new factory was built in about three years. But yeah, it's delayed, with series production now set to commence in the spring of 2016. One result of the switch to a longitudinal engine is a transmission hump in the cargo area aft of the engine. The hold is still sized to fit a bag of golf clubs, though it will be a tight fit.

2019 Acura NSX inner workings revealed in Shin Yoshikawa cutaway drawing

Artist Shin Yoshikawa is known for his intricate drawings of cars, which show every little detail under the metal skin in a cutaway fashion. The hand-drawn, pointillist pencil work re-creates the cars in immense detail, and Yoshikawa's work has been celebrated for years. Some time ago, Yoshikawa was featured on "Jay Leno's Garage," talking about his art and just how much work it is to draw the cars like he does. Now, Yoshikawa has been asked to draw the Acura NSX, and the result is fantastically good, showing everything that makes a new NSX tick — including its SH-AWD power unit. Yoshikawa says the powertrain made the NSX a real challenge to re-create on paper. "The NSX's innovative power unit was extremely challenging to draw, making the second-generation NSX the most difficult vehicle I have sketched," Yoshikawa said. "Everything comes down to the details. If you don't understand the technology that goes into building vehicles, you won't be able to build them, and you certainly can't draw them." It took Yoshikawa months of work and background research to be able to draw the final result. The amazing thing is that the car was "largely" drawn from notes and memory, showing how deeply Yoshikawa gets into his work. The NSX was also updated for 2019, after two model years. For next year it gets a new exterior color, Thermal Orange, and some structural improvements to make it stiffer and more responsive, says Acura.Related Video: Driving Iron Man's Favorite Supercar, The Acura NSX | Translogic 215

Acura TLX caught naked in production guise, can you spot the differences?

Acura doesn't tend to do concept cars these days that don't foreshadow a specific upcoming production model. The ZDX prototype of 2010 previewed the production version, as did the ILX and RLX showcars of 2012 and the MDX of 2013. The NSX concept is on its way to production, as the SUV-X concept is likely to do as well in the coming years. So when Acura revealed the TLX prototype at the Detroit Auto Show a few months ago, we all but knew it would only be a matter of time before that, too, would be produced. And here it is.
Spied all but completely undisguised while undergoing testing, this pair of TLX prototypes (one in white, one in black) looks almost identical to the show car. You might spot a few minor tweaks here and there - the strip of LEDs in the lower front bumper have been replaced by round fog lamps and some of the chrome accents are missing - but by and large, we're looking at the same vehicle we saw in Detroit earlier this year.
The finished production version of the TLX is expected to debut at the New York Auto Show next month, after which it will replace both the TSX and the TL, slotting in between the smaller ILX and the larger RLX in Acura's sedan lineup.