Daniel

Charlotte, NC - April 13, 2005 -- Honda-Acura.net has received further details regarding Honda's upcoming engine production for the TSX, Civic and Honda trucks, in addition to some very interesting speculation about the next S2000 and NSX.

Foremost, the rumor of a 2.0L Turbo in the TSX has been all but confirmed. It will be a version of the RSX Type-S’s DOHC i-VTEC K20 power plant but will come equipped with a turbocharger to allow it to produce in the neighborhood of 250 horsepower. In addition, the next generation Civic Si and Acura EL (Canada) will receive K-Series DOHC 2.0L engines. The base Civic models will get SOHC i-VTEC 1.8L engines. As long standing rumors have predicted, the J35 will finally be expanded to 3.7L and see duty in the Ridgeline and Pilot. The upcoming Acura RDX will receive the 3.2L V6 that currently sees duty in the Acura TL.

Perhaps the most interesting information, however, pertains to Honda’s two sports cars. While what has been stated above is all but fact, the information about the NSX and S2000 is less clear and concise, mainly due to its departure from common speculation. In an effort to kick start their lineup’s sagging sales, Honda may be developing a new K-Series 2.2L engine for the S2000 to either replace the power plant in the current generation or power the next generation roadster, which may be called the S2200.

According to our source, Honda is also developing a C-Series 3.5L V6 for the next NSX. This goes against most rumors that either forecasted the NSX's demise or that Acura's flagship would receive a 3.5-4.0L V6 based on a completely new block.

Either way, it’s clear that Honda is up to something in an effort to spice up its lineup.

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fastball

How on earth can Honda squeeze any more power out of a V6 than the 300 they have already?

mayonaise

great news about the turbo TSX. i can't wait! now i'll just have to wait for an awd version :cry:
more displacement? i'm sure it can be done

yeah, right. i don't believe that for a second.

Ochdx

How about pairing up a couple of S2000 motors to make a 480hp 4.4 V8

RB26DETT

i wouldnt mind that in the nsx

kenton

"S Twenty Two Hundred" or "S Twenty Twenty"

I'm in favor of the S2020

MrFatbooty

The current NSX gets 290 hp from 3.2 liters, which is a higher level of volumetric efficiency (90.625 hp/liter) than the 3.5 liter 300 hp engine in the RL (85.7 hp/liter). This is without the benefit of Honda's newer gimmicks like i-VTEC, improvements in cylinder head design, or using wideband oxygen sensors to allow for tighter on-the-fly regulation of air/fuel ratio.

So if you simply took a 3.5 liter engine that made the same hp/liter as the current NSX 3.2 it would have about 317 hp. If you add in all those other neat tricks that Honda does with their engines nowadays I'd say the volumetric efficiency of a new NSX motor would be even higher. Given that the original NSX was of similar volumetric efficiency to Honda's trick (at the time) four-cylinder engines, it would stand to reason that the new version would up its game to a similar level. The RSX Type-S makes 105 hp/liter; apply that to 3.5 liters and you have 368 hp. The current 2.2 liter S2000 makes about 109 hp/liter if you believe the spec sheet, but it actually makes a bit more than that. Still, apply it to 3.5 liters and you have 381 hp. The original 2.0 liter S2000 made 120 hp/liter (without the benefit of certain new tweaks like i-VTEC and wideband oxygen sensors, but with a ridiculously high redline); apply that to 3.5 liters and you have 420 hp. See where I'm headin with this?

There's no reason the next NSX couldn't compete with the likes of say, a Porsche 911 GT3. It wouldn't be up there with the 911 turbo, Ferrari F430 or Lamborghini Gallardo, but those cars would probably cost at least half-again as much as the NSX.

MtViewGuy88

I'd like to know how will Honda engineers figure out how to handle 250 bhp (SAE) on a FWD drivetrain on the Acura TSX. Will they now use a limited-slip differential plus a sophisticated traction control system as standard?

It will be interesting to see what Honda does with the new i-VTEC SOHC 1.8-liter I-4. Will it be rated at 140 bhp, as it has been rumored for quite some time? And will be based on the K-series engine block or the engine block used on the current 7th-generation Civic sedan?

stickyshifter

Confused no more, look at the current Acura TL: FWD + 270hp = limits on how much HP is too much for FWD.

The HP war is killing FWD. But I guess it's a good thing. I don't mind AWD as an option for some sedans. Living here in NYC, where we get 4 to 5 months of snow sometimes, AWD just sounds so reasonable.

Besides, what's performance if you can't use it all the time (right, G35 nudge nudge )

boilers

It's nice to see the upcoming new engines for Honda I do hope Honda also provide us with the options of AWD though, especially for their high performance models.