The new Acura NSX is a vastly different machine from the lightweight, rear-wheel-drive, naturally aspirated car that preceded it. The U.S.-built car of today is equipped with no fewer than three (!) electric motors assisting its mid-mounted twin-turbo V-6—one driving each front wheel and one boosting the power to the rear wheels. In other words, this new NSX is a much more complex machine than its ancestor.
That might change soon, however. British magazine Autocar spoke to the man in charge of the NSX project, Ted Klaus, who says up to five different variants of the new NSX could be forthcoming.
Honda would like to use the Performance Manufacturing Center (the plant where the NSX is built) to produce several different versions of the car in order to maximize the return on its investment. That could mean everything from an all-electric version to a lightweight, non-hybrid NSX.
Removing the electric motors from the drivetrain of the NSX would mean no more power to the front wheels. Does this mean we could get the rear-wheel-drive, lightweight NSX we’ve always wanted? Klaus says that making a “more pure, simplified version” was “in some ways more straightforward.” He added that there’s “an appetite for it” in Honda’s ranks. A Type R variant, Klaus said, should be “the most focused version of any platform.”
There is also talk of an open-top variant of the Acura supercar. “We can dream one day about it losing its top,” Klaus said.
We hope Honda is serious about producing additional variants of its flagship supercar. A lightweight, rear-drive non-hybrid would be the vehicle of choice for track rats and oversteer aficionados; a Type R would bring back a legendary badge from Acura and Honda’s early days. An all-electric NSX could be a fascinating foray into future technology, and a droptop could widen the car’s appeal.
We’ll just have to wait and see what Acura eventually churns out.
This story originally appeared on Road & Track via Carscoops.
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