We’ve heard it before, but for good news such as this, it’s worth hearing another yes from the big man. Honda president and CEO Takanobu Ito is reported by Autocar UK to have confirmed that the company is making a “new NSX” on the eve of the Frankfurt show. He may be the boss now, but Ito is an engineer at heart.
“I spent part of my early career at Honda developing the NSX, and specifically the aluminium body. I really enjoyed that experience, and learned much, so it is my wish that Honda engineers have the experience of developing a sportscar like the NSX in future. Within Honda, our engineers are already looking at developing such a car,” Ito said.
“You can’t depend on a high power output to call a car sporty anymore. The original NSX was about high power but also good driving performance, and today power-to-weight is what we have to focus on. The NSX was known for its aluminium body, so when we develop our new sportscar we don’t want to copy Ferrari for power, but to also chase efficiency as well,” the man added.
Previous reports say that the production NSX will be based on the HSV-010GT race car that competes in Super GT. Funnily, that racer was supposed to be the production car before the latter was canned!
If you’re skeptical, we don’t blame you. After all, the much anticipated new NSX has been on and off for a long time. A successor to the mid engined flagship was originally slated for a 2010 launch, but the plans were thrown out in December 2008 by ex Honda boss Takeo Fukui. Reasons include the global financial crisis as well as ever growing environmental concerns.
The Honda brand has always been linked to engineering and performance, but these days, they seem to be only interested in hybrids. Ito hears our cries, though, and has in place plans to change this.
“Our recent efforts have been focused on fuel efficiency, and that perhaps gives the impression Honda is behind with pushing the brand image of sportiness, but let me assure you that is not the case. We will address that impression with our new generations of cars.”
Those are comforting words for the legions of Honda fans who yearn for the good old days!
© 2011 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.
This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Mon, 19 Sep 11 07:45:42 +0000.
Related posts:
- Takanobu Ito: Honda to revive NSX replacement plans
- Euro Honda Civic Type R MUGEN confirmed for the UK: only 20 units to be produced!
- Honda developing new car smaller than the Honda Jazz for emerging markets
- Unmarked car confirmed to be new Honda City (2PS)
Link to full article
No comments:
Post a Comment