NetViper said:
Sorry, I did miss that. Nonetheless, I think the current price level is OK. I mean, it is an exotic car. I won't be able to afford a new one, but a lot of guys here can and others can take advantage of their used ones in 3 years.
As usual on Prime, you guys are dreaming without factoring in the economics. I don't blame you, if I ran Honda I'd produce a car just like the one you're all fantasizing about: 500HP, 2800lbs, semi-auto gearbox, super handling package (lol nice name Honda, mr sparkle is alive and well in japan I see) and with all the goodies you want.
It would take down the big boys, yada yada yada, it would be 1991 all over again and the NSX name would be golden instead of laughed at because of the age issue.
But it will never happen. Not from Honda, not now or in the forseeable future.
The next NSX will be one of the following:
1. A supercar, with 500HP and a $125k+ sticker on the window that competes with cars on the level of the Gallardo, 430 Monza, Ford GT, etc, basically a rolling Honda technology showcase.
or...
2. A sportscar in the vein of the HSC with 350HP, made on the cheap with steel panels and no exotic processes, and priced out slightly lower than an M3 at say $55k.
If you're Honda and you go with the first choice, you don't make any money. Even Ford claims that the GT will barely pencil out to break-even by the time production ends on approximately 1,500 total units, and they're selling that car for $150k+ MSRP. It would be no different with an NSX supercar, in fact it would likely be worse thanks to the brutal dollar/yen ratio. And truthfully, you'd be hard pressed to find 1,500 buyers who will choose a Honda over a 911TT or a Monza, or a GT, or whatever. We know this to be true thanks to the original NSX, which never caught on with the status-obssesed buyer that Ferrari and Porsche make their living on.
So for those reasons, Honda is not likely to go that route.
However, if they go with the second HSC-type car, guys like you NetViper (not picking on you, just the fact that you mentioned affordability) could buy a brand new one right off the lot, with a little bit of effort.
The volume they'd achieve would be similar to the volume of the S2000 per yer, roughly 20x more than the NSX sells now. They already manufacture the engine that the new car would use thanks to the new RL's unit, it wouldn't even need exotic titanium con rods or other costly items.
The bottom line is that if Honda can be profitable on an S2000 for $32k, then they can be profitable on a basic HSC/NSX for $55k. The new RL points the way to the future. That engine is a volume produced unit that makes 300HP without trying. It would be simple to bump it up to 350HP, put it in a steel bodied HSC-size car that weighs no more than say 3,050lbs, and sell it for under $60k.
The HSC show car weighs about 2,800lbs, the same as a stock S2000, so there's room to gain weight without going over the weight of a current NSX coupe.
The new RL points the way and shows the inner thoughts of Honda's management, I really believe that. Pay attention to that car, and its shocking lack of a V8 engine even though everyone and their brother demanded one from Honda during the past two years, and you'll see the way Honda's management is posistioning the next NSX.
Basic. Profitabe. Easy to make. The same things they applied to the S2000 and it achieved profitability for them, without sacrificing any happiness or driving pleasure for the S2000's owners.
I have no problem with that mentality, it would be great to see many of you be able to walk into a dealer, write a check, and own an HSC brand new. Unfortunately, not many of you could ever do that with the current NSX, not without mad discounting. Families and other things come first.
Think about it and you'll see that Honda is not Ferrari, or better yet Porsche, meaning they have no desire to make unprofitable supercars for the country club set who would never buy a lowly "Honda" when one of the others is offered at the same price.
