Refreshed NSX?

[Honcho]

Saw that last night. Someone got a note from Honda? We still have the overlay pic of all this weirdness.
Hey mods - why was it removed?

It was hyperlinked to FB, so maybe that's why?

It wasn't us. The image was linked to FB so they may have taken it down.

 

[sfnsx1]

Is this the photo that was originally linked here?

https://acuraconnected.com/2021/06/14/spied-2022-acura-nsx/

 

[NbyNW]

It wasn't us. The image was linked to FB so they may have taken it down.

Thanks. The mysteries of the internet.

 

[docjohn]

Is this the photo that was originally linked here?

https://acuraconnected.com/2021/06/14/spied-2022-acura-nsx/

yes

 

[Silver F16]

 

[Silver F16]

Since this was taken down, we now know this is the real deal. Does anyone else think the rear end now looks rather busy with too many conflicting lines and surfaces? Perhaps more functional at the expense of beauty. BTW, What kind of license plate is that? Can't tell the state nor the country of the plate.

 

[docjohn]

well the easiest place to change bodywork is at the back...I sense another 02 update scenario.... miniscule microscopic aero benefits...

 

[powdbyrice]

Since this was taken down, we now know this is the real deal. Does anyone else think the rear end now looks rather busy with too many conflicting lines and surfaces? Perhaps more functional at the expense of beauty. BTW, What kind of license plate is that? Can't tell the state nor the country of the plate.

i dont think acura told anyone to take it down. fb (like other sites) doesnt like hyperlinks. its not like the picture was taken at a private honda facility.

curious to see what the exhaust looks like since we cant see it in the picture.

the diffuser is a little aggressive compared to the rest of the back end.

i think its in the US somewhere as thats an MDX Type-S in front of it. A quick google search shows ohio mfg plate.

 

[DJ Iceman]

If true that we're looking at a camouflaged MY2021 NSX, then I agree it's a change. But it's not (to me) an improvement. And all of us here know that little nips and tucks aren't going to move the needle on sales. If anything, given that Acura had to stop MY2021 sales so early in the year, the NC1 has actually been selling rather well these past several months.

I'm guessing that these changes to the rear go along with changes to the front along the lines of the photoshopped image showing the new Acura pentagon grille on the front.

To go further into speculation, they could also come along with power and other performance upgrades that justify the MY2022 car being called the NSX Type-S. I doubt they would offer the current look *and* the new look at the same time, so it could be that the only way to get a MY2022 NSX is in Type-S form. I have to assume that would come with a price increase (or maybe they just get rid of the $20k incentive but keep the sticker price close to the same), which would do wonders to continue propping up used car prices of older NC1's.

 

[NZNick]

The NSX will be 6 years into production when the updated car is re-launched later this year. This isn't a long time for a major model refresh, following on from the minor refresh for 2019.
One of the reasons for the change is that the car will not be able to be solnd in some markets as it doesn't have certain safety systems that are being made mandatory in some countries. This is the perfect time to update the interior electronics, especially the infotainment screen! Forward facing scanners / radar / cameras will be required, necessitating significant interior changes to the NSX cabin.
I'm sure that Acura will want to amend the front end look of the NSX, so that it bears a closer resemblance to the wider Acura family - perhaps there will be a difference to the Honda version sold in other parts of the world? (probably not though...)
Is this the time that a sports model is introduced, or will there be a targa option? Will there be an uprated battery? Who knows, let's wait and see..

 

[goldNSX]

One of the reasons for the change is that the car will not be able to be solnd in some markets as it doesn't have certain safety systems that are being made mandatory in some countries.

The lack of those safety reasons discouraged potential buyers (incl. me) from buying one. After having driven a 2018 Civic and now a 2020 Jazz (Fit) even those cheap cars have all the safety features you never want to miss on any newer car.

 

[DJ Iceman]

I disagree (not with your decision, but that the lack of safety features didn't dissuade me from purchasing). My past few vehicles have had adaptive cruise control, front collision warning, lane departure control, etc. In general, I find them more annoying than valuable. The only one that would have been handy on the NSX is a blind spot monitor, but obviously the lack of that feature wasn't a deal-breaker for me.

In an ideal world, Acura would offer a couple of variants of the NSX, one for hardcore performance enthusiasts and the other for more casual cruisers. In another thread, I theorized that the current variant of the NSX is, in reality, the NSX Type-S. It is optimized more for performance than comfort or luxury. They could have offered a GT variant with all the safety features, cooled seats, heck--maybe even take out the twin motor unit up front and offer all that space as a frunk. And they could still offer a Type-R variant that *really* tips toward performance--remove sound-deadening insulation, take out the infotainment completely, and use even more carbon fiber to reduce weight as much as possible. And while I'm dreaming, the NSX-GT should also be offered in convertible guise.

Would they sell more NSX's? Undoubtedly. But I suspect there's no way to make the significant investment in engineering pencil out.

 

[drmanny3]

Honda has not changed fundamentally as an organization. The culture in the US and especially in Japan has not dramatically changed. I suspect that Honda will not go backwards by dropping the electric motors. That would represent a significant change in the car that is beyond just a cosmetic treatment. So It is not going to happen. They could and probably will make some minor changes. I can see the front end receiving a more modern (keeping with the overall Acura family) look. The interior might get some refreshing, or they could just add features such as blind side functionality, adaptive cruise, etcetera. While many complain about the look as being too similar to other Acura products that is in fact purposeful. Frankly when I am driving my car I am not upset with the graphics of the center stack. I am not upset with the layout of the car. It seems perfect to me. In track mode the center screen turns off anyway. Why, well because if you are driving on the track looking at entertaining graphics is not what is important in my mind.

 

[Honcho]

I tend to agree with [MENTION=6718]drmanny3[/MENTION]. They're not going to delete the front motors, no matter how much people hope for it. They may update them (lighter, more powerful, etc..), which is what I'm hearing. I think we get a front and rear refresh to update to the 2022 design language, all the safe driving aids so they can sell it in Japan again (lol), and an infotainment update to the 2022 Honda standard. Maybe a bit of a general interior update too. One could hope for a slight power bump from the ICE via tuning revisions. Typical Honda upgrades- incremental, not monumental. I doubt we'll see a Type-S trim for 2022. Maybe 2023 or 24. If history is a guide, Honda typically releases a "special edition" trim level in the last year before a full model change. So we might see the Type-S before the NC1 is either retired or changed to the Gen 3 version, whatever that will be.

 

[vf2ss]

On the front/rear refresh, what does update to the 2022 design language mean exactly? Does it actually mean make it really look like their 2022 lineup? What they do here imo is going to make or break this latest iteration of the NSX more so than anything else. Just like the 02 update, consumers noticed the googly eye headlights more than anything else amidst the rest of the updates. And while there's good reason to believe the updated look of NC1 will conform to better fit in with their current lineup, if they do that it will make the '17-'21 styling more valuable and the new look less desirable. NSX owners want a uniquely special, unlike any other car on the road, type of look ... and making it look like your momma's MDX is not the right direction. The 02 update didn't even bother to conform to the then TL, CL, RL, MDX, or RSX at the time and it is the defining look of the beloved NSX-R. That update rightfully paid homage to its predecessor look and while one could argue that sales for the 02 were bad, imagine how much worse they would've been if the refresh genuinely resembled the front end of the then CL or MDX? The fact that Japan took it back gives me hope that they recognize this aspect of the car (like they did before) and will do whatever is reasonably within their power to update it with a look that it deserves as a standalone flagship vs. lineup conformist. It will NOT hurt their brand ... all it has to have is the Acura badge on it and people will know.

 

[sbkim]

Hopefully nothing like this

On the front/rear refresh, what does update to the 2022 design language mean exactly? Does it actually mean make it really look like their 2022 lineup? What they do here imo is going to make or break this latest iteration of the NSX more so than anything else. Just like the 02 update, consumers noticed the googly eye headlights more than anything else amidst the rest of the updates. And while there's good reason to believe the updated look of NC1 will conform to better fit in with their current lineup, if they do that it will make the '17-'21 styling more valuable and the new look less desirable. NSX owners want a uniquely special, unlike any other car on the road, type of look ... and making it look like your momma's MDX is not the right direction. The 02 update didn't even bother to conform to the then TL, CL, RL, MDX, or RSX at the time and it is the defining look of the beloved NSX-R. That update rightfully paid homage to its predecessor look and while one could argue that sales for the 02 were bad, imagine how much worse they would've been if the refresh genuinely resembled the front end of the then CL or MDX? The fact that Japan took it back gives me hope that they recognize this aspect of the car (like they did before) and will do whatever is reasonably within their power to update it with a look that it deserves as a standalone flagship vs. lineup conformist. It will NOT hurt their brand ... all it has to have is the Acura badge on it and people will know.

 

[Honcho]

[MENTION=37431]sbkim[/MENTION] that is hideous lol.

I felt that, even though it is quite striking in person, the NC1 deviated too much from the iconic NSX lines and went instead into the forgettable 2012 Acura lineup. It would be nice to see a return to some of the familiar NSX lines (e.g., long tail, wedge nose), but I doubt that will happen. They're not going to change the wheelbase and we'll never see a front end like that again due to the pedestrian impact standards in place now.

 

[neuronbob]

Hopefully nothing like this

No. Just, no.

 

[drmanny3]

Hopefully we will find out soon whether or not the NSX is alive, alive with improvements or DOA. Bottom line is this car is a joy to drive. I often come up with some pretty asinine reasons to drive mine. I had rinsed it off and had it under its car cover in the garage for the last 4 days. Feeling pretty sad about it being covered up I came up with a reason to drive it. I had run out of Jolly Rancher hard candy and decided to make the pilgrimage to my local Target about 8 miles away. Drove there got my two bags of candy and returned the car to the garage and its cover. Wow another disaster averted by my trusty NSX. The NC1 is the best store runner I have ever had....

 

[RYU]

@NZNick - I think you nailed it. These safety features are so important and useful in my opinion that they are pretty much ubiquitous in all of the base model Japanese cars sold in 2021. Not sure why the Europeans still want to charge an arm and a leg for them though... Even the Civic Type R had them retrofitted for the last MY 2021. That's a rather big undertaking for Honda to retrofit something like this for a last model year or even midcycle. So why not update the facias as well on the NC1.

@DJ Iceman - I've been an early adopter of technologies such as Adaptive Cruise Control. I've probably been using it for 7 yrs now in various forms in various cars. The exponential technology leap in this space has been massive. Even a 2 yr old ACC performs annoyingly bad when compared to a current 2022 generation. They're still all trying to keep up with Tesla though - phantom braking issues and all. Tesla will have them beat for the next 5-10yrs going, but the current crop of new Honda and Toyota driver aids are rather quite good. Go test drive a new "2.0" system and compare to your old one. Granted if you hate automated driving... well.. you'll hate all of these technologies no matter how good they work.

-------------------

In terms of the short term NC1 volume increase in sales, due to various things Covid related, we're starting to see some relief in terms of logistics and manufacturing. While it's still shitty in many parts of Asia, for example, the drain is slowly being unclogged. It takes a long time to move an aircraft carrier like Honda Corporate. If they're making big decisions based on the artificial demand created by Covid Economics, i'm not sure if they should be banking on that for plans going out 2-5yrs from now. Supply/Demand economics could easily get back to "normal" a year from now and they could get caught with their pants down (AGAIN).

I personally think they should milk the NC1 platform as long as they can. Hell... McLaren has been milking the 12C platform for years now.

 

[Bricks and Bio]

Let us return to the experts for their next lesson in sports cars

https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/auto/...b58adca510c5036da790574938a0f3d6a0c11aff5c1fb

Instead of slotting the V6 hybrid car below the current V8 mid engine F8, they went bonkers (like they did for the SF90) and gave this RWD only car 830 HP

 

[goldNSX]

@NZNick - I think you nailed it. These safety features are so important and useful in my opinion that they are pretty much ubiquitous in all of the base model Japanese cars sold in 2021. Not sure why the Europeans still want to charge an arm and a leg for them though... Even the Civic Type R had them retrofitted for the last MY 2021. That's a rather big undertaking for Honda to retrofit something like this for a last model year or even midcycle. So why not update the facias as well on the NC1.

@DJ Iceman - I've been an early adopter of technologies such as Adaptive Cruise Control. I've probably been using it for 7 yrs now in various forms in various cars. The exponential technology leap in this space has been massive. Even a 2 yr old ACC performs annoyingly bad when compared to a current 2022 generation. They're still all trying to keep up with Tesla though - phantom braking issues and all. Tesla will have them beat for the next 5-10yrs going, but the current crop of new Honda and Toyota driver aids are rather quite good. Go test drive a new "2.0" system and compare to your old one. Granted if you hate automated driving... well.. you'll hate all of these technologies no matter how good they work.

2x +1

In Europe, the new 2017 Civic had those safety features (called ADAS over here). My 2018 Civic had them too and they worked 99.9%. My 2020 Fit has even more safety features than the 2018 Civic. The only car in the European line-up that surprisingly doesn't have them at all is their hello car for 2$$'$$$!!! while a $20'000 Fit has them all, how embarrassing is that! No wonder, the sales are creeping over here. And 2/3 of the cars ever sold ended up on the dealers lot because people switch their new toy cars pretty fast over here. No 2nd owner is dumping that kind of money on a car which failed to have the latest safety system when it came out. So it's highest time to install these features if they don't want to sell in the US only.

 

[DJ Iceman]

@DJ Iceman - I've been an early adopter of technologies such as Adaptive Cruise Control. I've probably been using it for 7 yrs now in various forms in various cars. The exponential technology leap in this space has been massive. Even a 2 yr old ACC performs annoyingly bad when compared to a current 2022 generation. They're still all trying to keep up with Tesla though - phantom braking issues and all. Tesla will have them beat for the next 5-10yrs going, but the current crop of new Honda and Toyota driver aids are rather quite good. Go test drive a new "2.0" system and compare to your old one. Granted if you hate automated driving... well.. you'll hate all of these technologies no matter how good they work.

Fair enough, and good point. I actually find the ACC on my 2011 ZDX works better than the one on my 2014 MDX did, but I have two main complaints with both of them. One, they leave too big a gap between me and the car in front such that other traffic cuts in, making the system brake, leaving a big gap, which lets other traffic cut in, and on and on. Two, they detect phantom objects in front of me that make them brake unnecessarily (and occasionally scare the crap out of me because there's nothing there but the car goes all "BRAKE!" beeping and flashing and braking. If the newer systems have solved these two problems, then I'll actually be much more of a fan.

 

[vf2ss]

...we'll never see a front end like that again due to the pedestrian impact standards in place now.

I know we've all heard/thought this but how is it we're getting the aforementioned 296GTB

or even have fronts like the C8, Lotus, Lamborghini, etc.?

I get the actual measurement of how low the NA1/NA2 nose cannot be replicated, but nothing's stopping anyone from doing what they can to visually make it look like it.

It seems like it's most certainly doable to 'have a front end like that' aka wedge nose IF Honda wanted to and still meet pedestrian impact standards like the others do.

 

[neuronbob]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.motortrend.com/news/2022-ferrari-296-gtb-first-look-review/amp/

So…what’s going to be Acura’s response to Ferrari and McLaren advancing like this? I’ve said repeatedly that the NC1 was ahead of its time in bringing electrification down to a semi-attainable price from the previous million-dollar hypercars. I know peak power and 0-60 are not all there is to a car, but is Acura going to sit on its butt like they did with the NA1/2? I’d love to see them come out swinging here. Based on their past, I don’t see it happening, though.