The Making Of : Acura's Avenger Supercar

One of my facebook buddies posted this on his wall, an article which talks about how the Acura supercar that is featured on the Avengers movie and driven by Tony Stark was made. I think you would be interested if you have not already read the article.

http://autos.sympatico.ca/features/13757/the-avengers-hero-car-how-to-make-a-one-off-acura

Awesome new NSX video by Sony

TOV member TSX69 found this video on youtube and posted the link on our forums. Done by Sony, this is an awesome video of the new NSX concept. Watching it brings me goosebumps all over and if you are as fanatical a Honda fan as I, you will probably feel the same too.

The NSX is Back !!! Photos from the NAIAS

The NSX makes a dramatic return to Honda's, or rather Acura's lineup in the U.S., in the form of the 2nd Gen Acura NSX. Slated to be launched in 2014 and be built in Honda's Ohio plant, this is surely THE most awaited event for all Honda enthusiasts for a long long time. 

The new NSX continues the legendary tradition of the original NSX by being an MR and featuring superb power-to-weight ratio as the means to deliver high performance befitting a Honda supercar. It features a new version of Honda's SH-AWD with electric motors powering the front wheels instead of being driven by the engine via a prop-shaft. The engine itself is a direct-injection V6, displacement unknown, and quite certainly DOHC and VTEC. During the special preview in December, Acura told TOV that it will be a higher spec version of the circa 400hp 3.5l V6 that they had been working on thus far. It is unknown if this engine will feature Honda's much awaited A-VTEC system. It is mated to a 'dual-clutch' transmission, i.e. a DSG, number of gears not specified. The engine is a new generation IMA hybrid, with an electric motor reinforcing drive when needed. The new NSX will be developed for production by an R&D team led Honda R&D Americas.

The photos below are selected from TOV's own personal collection, taken at the NAIAS 'Detroit Motor Show'. More photos and the complete press release are available at our Temple Of VTEC main site at http://www.vtec.net.

 

The NSX is Coming !!! Part Four

The most accurate rendering of the new 2nd Gen NSX so far

Of all the renditions by various automobile publications, internet or published, that we have seen so far, Jeff says the Auto Express magazine of U.K. has come the closest. The illustrations on the left are those we featured on our TOV NNR article and the text below are also from our article. As noted by Jeff, more illustrations are available at the AutoExpress website but the technical details are still unconfirmed at this stage. It is worth remembering that AutoExpress got the engine details for the CR-Z wrong, eventhough it was later confirmed that the engine was changed late in the development cycle for that car. AutoExpress quoted the Insight 1.3l IMA engine for the CR-Z whereas it debuted with a newly developed 1.5l engine.

The NSX is Coming !!! Part Three

In this post leading up to the final exposure of the new NSX concept, I take a look at some of the renditions of this car on the internet and our subjective opinions on how accurate they are. Since the confirmation of this new '2nd Gen NSX', several renditions have since come out. Some are quite a way off the real car but some quite close. The new NSX is really a hardtop version of the 'Avengers' car that 'Tony Stark' drove to one of the Avengers movie sets for shooting. I did talk to Jeff about getting Neil to do our own rendition but now that the car is going public in virtually half a days time, it is no longer prudent to do so. So instead, I first show five renditions done by other publications and what we have to say about them.

The NSX is coming !!! Part Two

The first time the new NSX was confirmed was just after the Tokyo Motor Show of this year, when Jeff told me he had to rush back to the U.S. for a very special preview. I did not know, nor expect the significance of that at the time. Previously, while Honda CEO Ito-san had publicly confirmed a new Honda supercar, he did not confirm it would be the NSX. In fact, from the many conflicting and chaotic reports on the media, many actually claims that their 'insider info' says that it will be the HSV-010GT FR supercar that Honda has been competing with in the Super GT competition over the past two years. 

The future of Acura

While I wasn't at the Tokyo Motor Show, vtec.net 'chief' Jeff Palmer was there and was part of the contingent who participated in the roundtable discussion with Honda CEO Ito-san, as well as the special preview of future Honda car directions, including test-driving the 'future Accord'. Coverage of these events are now 'the' hot news around automotive publications around the world. Yet when I was chatting with Jeff on the weekend of the TMS, I was surprised to learn that he had already flew back to the U.S. It was for a special event in Las Vegas he told me and today, Jeff published a special article about that event. 

Basically we (TOV) had been part of the very select, exclusive group of media journalists who were invited by Acura (U.S.A.) to a special 'Strategic Briefing' session by Acura where we learned a lot about the future plans of Acura for the U.S. market. While the session was specifically for Acura and the U.S., some of the models revealed in that session are highly likely to make it to the rest of the world as well, either as (newly launched) Acura models or Honda models. 

So if you want to peep into what Honda has for you in the future, read our special article at the link http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1020643