http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102981
NSX successor may get all-wheel drive in addition to V10, Honda says
YUZO YAMAGUCHI | Automotive News
Posted Date: 8/16/05
TOKYO - Honda Motor Co. is looking at installing its high- performance all- wheel- drive system in the successor to the Acura NSX.
The new car, which will be powered by a V10 engine, is scheduled to arrive about 2008.
"Of course, we're thinking" about combining all-wheel drive with the V10, says Takeo Fukui, Honda's president. "The SH-AWD is Honda's core technology, and using this well is the next step."
The company says SH-AWD - short for Super Handling All-Wheel Drive - is the first awd system to distribute optimum torque between the front and rear wheels and between the left and right rear wheels.
It was first installed on the Acura RL last fall. After its debut, Fukui said Honda would be looking to use it on other high-performance Acuras.
During aggressive driving, as much as 70 percent of the torque is delivered to the rear wheels, the company says.
During a high-speed turn, the differential also sends as much as 100 percent of the rear-wheel torque to either wheel. This improves traction and helps avoid spinouts.
In the United States, Acura sold 10,173 RLs this year through July, up from 3,149 in the same period of last year.
The company has said that the NSX successor won't be front drive, meaning it will be either rear drive or awd. Production of the NSX will stop at year end. The NSX and the S2000 are Honda's only rwd cars.
NSX successor may get all-wheel drive in addition to V10, Honda says
YUZO YAMAGUCHI | Automotive News
Posted Date: 8/16/05
TOKYO - Honda Motor Co. is looking at installing its high- performance all- wheel- drive system in the successor to the Acura NSX.
The new car, which will be powered by a V10 engine, is scheduled to arrive about 2008.
"Of course, we're thinking" about combining all-wheel drive with the V10, says Takeo Fukui, Honda's president. "The SH-AWD is Honda's core technology, and using this well is the next step."
The company says SH-AWD - short for Super Handling All-Wheel Drive - is the first awd system to distribute optimum torque between the front and rear wheels and between the left and right rear wheels.
It was first installed on the Acura RL last fall. After its debut, Fukui said Honda would be looking to use it on other high-performance Acuras.
During aggressive driving, as much as 70 percent of the torque is delivered to the rear wheels, the company says.
During a high-speed turn, the differential also sends as much as 100 percent of the rear-wheel torque to either wheel. This improves traction and helps avoid spinouts.
In the United States, Acura sold 10,173 RLs this year through July, up from 3,149 in the same period of last year.
The company has said that the NSX successor won't be front drive, meaning it will be either rear drive or awd. Production of the NSX will stop at year end. The NSX and the S2000 are Honda's only rwd cars.
