2016 Acura NSX aimed at Ferrari 458 for the price of Audi R8

Wed, 08 Oct 2014

Acura has done a good job of keeping the next-generation NSX under the wraps for the past few months, especially after a fiery little incident during testing at the Nürburgring earlier this year. But UK's What Car? recently got a chance to speak with development boss Ted Klaus, and he unleashed a few new details about the much-anticipated supercar to make it even harder for us to wait.

Among the info was a strong estimate of the NSX's performance potential. "We have to achieve the type of acceleration that the customer is achieving with the Ferrari," said Klaus to What Car?. "More importantly we have to achieve this every day and also at the Nürburgring." Assuming Acura's supercar is as actually quick as a 458 Italia, then it could hit 60 miles per hour in around 3.5 seconds.

Klaus also claims that the wickedly fast performance could come at a relative bargain for the class. The price is reportedly being benchmarked against the Audi R8, which would put the NSX around $130,000 in the US. While hardly cheap, it would still be a healthy discount off a 458.

Even at that alleged price, Acura isn't going to just pump these supercars out of its new, bespoke factory in Ohio. According to Klaus, the company wants to keep production low to maintain high demand. "There is value in making the product rare," he said. It's possible that the NSX could just be the start for the range; Klaus hints at not only a future convertible but also the chance for an even higher performance model someday.

The new NSX is supposed to be ready for launch sometime in 2015 in the US, and according to What Car?, the hybrid supercar is supposed to make its big debut at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show over a year from now. That's a long to wait. We'll try to remain patient...

By Chris Bruce