Having reviewed the many comments in this thread it appears that the HSC is NOT the NSX successor, but might be produced to compete with a broader intent and on a broader scale than was intended for the NSX. It appears that the HSC may be produced to compete with both the lower priced existing, or soon to, be new cars from a number of manufacturers, i.e., Nissan 350Z, Mazda RX-8 (RX-7), BMW Z-4, Mercedes SLK32 AMG (successor SLK350?), Audi TT, Porsche BoxsterS and yes, hold your breath, even the Chrysler Crossfire, etc., as well as compete with the higher priced "exotics" such as the Ferrari Modena and Porsche 911 derivatives. I sense that HONDA wants to claim a new niche in the market by being better than the lower priced cars so that it is considered the "best of" that line of vehicles, while at the same time attempting to one up the "big boys" with a less expensive car that has the looks, feel and capability of the exotics at a fraction of their price. To that end, I believe HONDA will be more "financially" succesful than it was with the introduction of the NSX in NA because it will appeal to a broader market and it will truly be a better vehicle in all respects than the lower priced line of cars, especially if the price point is ala Corvette level.
The differece between the HSC and the NSX is that HONDA did not target the lower priced sports cars (were there any to speak of anyway!) with the NSX, consequently it never enjoyed a "best of" comparison against any line of vehicle that it was targeted to take on, ie., Ferrari and Porsche. Yes, we all know the NSX is better than the same period Ferrari (348) and whatever Porsche 911 derivative existed at the time (911 Carrera) and, without question, a number of auto magazine car comparisons found the NSX superior (read:"Acura-Honda NSX Performance Portfoglio 1989-1999", from Brooklands Books).
IMHO HONDA will not make the same mistake again, and that is why I believe that a new NSX, built with the same market in mind as the original will emerge from HONDA. It is more likely that the HSC will be an intermediate step between the likes of the HONDA SC 2000 and the NSX which will likely fade away after a short period of overlap with the HSC.
In 1990 HONDA through its Acura Division of America produced a glitzy 12 page insert in many popular auto magazines which stated on the title page and following page, "IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT A CAR MAKES A STATEMENT ABOUT THE PERSON WHO DRIVES IT, THIS ONE MAKES A STATEMENT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO BUILD IT." This promo piece went on to state, "Upon its unveiling, the vehicle you see before you will no doubt be referred to in many ways: as exotic, breakthrough, even history in the making. We prefer to think of it as, simply, a mission statement. ... Not a car buyer's dream, mind you...but a car maker's dream." The piece then went on to show a photo of Aryton Senna in a vintage 1989-90 HONDA F1 car, boasting (legitimately) the prowess at the time of HONDA engineering and stating about the NSX, "IT HAS REVOLUTIONARY WRITTEN ALL OVER IT, UNDER IT AND INSIDE IT." The promo piece then concludes with two interesting statements:
