From Automobile Magazine (not online yet):

Just when it seemed that the Acura NSX, Japan's aluminum-bodied supercoupe, was at last to have its first full makeover, woed has reached us that Honda has had a change of heart and quietly has shelved all plans for the redesign. Translation: no new NSX.

Not surprisingly, this alarming news has been vehemently denied by Honda public relations. Our sources tell us, however, that after looking again at the design and the business case surrounding a new NSX, Honda has decided to pass, at least for now.

Behind the scenes at Honda R&D in Japan, it's been an open secret that Honda has been developing a successor to the fifteen-year-old NSX based on last year's Tokyo show HSC concept coupe. President Takeo Fukui told the automotive press that the program was ongoing and even set a debut date of 2005, which insiders privately admitted was too early; 2006 or 2007 was the more likely time for a second-generation NSX.

But with Honda reportedly having trouble getting the HSC design to gel, the crunch time came in April, when, at a top-level presentation, principal decision makers from Japan and the United States couldn't agree that the HSC-based coupe had the right stuff to succeed. Honda is turning its attention to a new luxury coupe instead.

Things move fast inside Honda. The HSC came together in only three months, and major programs can get changed in rapid order. Even so, the NSX always has been a special case. A high-performance icon and a car in which Honda has placed a lot of pride and emotion, the NSX has won plaudits and spooked Maranello but has never been a big commercial success. That and questions about how much money a successor would generate reportedly tipped the balance.

Remember, too, that the NSX was born in the '80s, when Honda was a smaller, feistier company. Today, it's much harder to make a case for a narrow-focus, expensive V-6 supercoupe when the likes of the Pilot, the Accord, the Odyssey, and the MDX are where the real action is. With a bigger, richer, and more diverse Honda fixated on robots, hybrids, fuel cells and jet aircraft, the game has changed since the NSX's heyday. And with factions inside American Honda pushing instead for a $40,000 Porsche Boxster rival, support for a new NSX was further diminished.

For enthusiasts, it's a worrisome sign. First the CRX disappeared and then the Prelude. There might not be another S2000, and now the NSX has effectively been read its last rites.

Honda will likely continue to produce and evolve the NSX in small numbers as long as there is demand. But for a wholly new edition to kick Ferrari's butt, the moment seems to have passed. Sadly.

 

TOV guys are foaming at the mouth and denying this, as usual. Of course, like a lot of Automobile Magazine stuff, it sounds legit but who knows. Honda and Toyota are always playing tricky.

Supposedly, Kyodo News had a piece a while back (check Freshalloy) that said Nissan is coming out with a new sport car model early in 2005... no other source said anything about this.

If Honda, Nissan, or Toyota are working on exciting new performance models seriously, you won't know until they are real products in the dealer, almost!

Honda is NOT going to let both Honda AND Acura exist without at least one sport model apiece. The NSX, RSX, and S2000 could all go away tomorrow ... or maybe not.

Likewise...
Yes, Toyota did stop sales of the Supra, but then the 3rd-gen MR2 came out. There's always something, even if it's not for everyone.

A new luxury coupe? Something a little more pizzazzier than the last CL? Hmmm!!!! :yay:

I'd be happy if the Prelude ever made a comeback.

 

maybe they want to make a more affordable sports car. One that's not handbuilt and not so exotic. maybe 300-330hp v6 that weighs less than about 3400lbs. Hopefully it would still be rwd. However, I dont know how affordable it would be unless they were to use the platform on other products. Now platform sharing on a car like the nsx would be blasphemy to loyalists. Also making it more affordable would hurt the image of the nsx. So whenever they decide to bring it back, they will probably keep it as exclusive as it is now. And in the mean time they want a car that can make them some money.

Of course I'm probably dreamin. Afterall if they were going to make a rwd platform that can be used in several applications, they would've probably put the upcoming RL on that platform.

 

i read about this days ago on PO.com.. its interesting to say the least.

 

So basically the US Honda guys want a much cheaper and high volume sports car (to be the sporty competitor of the SC430). I hope they still use a name very similar to NSX. And please use the front end of HSC!!

 

Yeah I think Honda needs some affordable and fast sports compacts. I don't mind they not redesigning a car I can't afford. I am more down to earth and think about the cars I can own. Bring on the new CRX (if it exists)!!

 

Well **** them. This goes beyond marketing and number crunching...It's unabashed rape of people's dreams. You know, I would be happy if they kept on making the current NSX. Maybe one day I could afford it.

But yeah, the heyday seems to be over.

The first thing I think of when someone says Honda or Japanese performance is the NSX.

Jeez, the Pilot/Accord/Civic sales could easily subsidize a performance coupe. I hope Honda makes an NSX one day in the future. On the bright side, if they bring out a RWD luxury coupe for $40K, chances are I'll be able to afford it much sooner than I could an NSX.

But for now, God damn you Honda, God damn you...

 

I think Honda has invested enough time in making "exotic" concepts like the Dual Note and the HSC that its not going to be a big stretch for them to complete a next generation NSX. Granted the sales of the current model aren't spectacular (although they are way above what I think they should be for a 13 year old car), a new and improved model that can hang with the 911, Corvette, Viper, etc... will surely sell enough as a halo car to justify an investment in it.

 

sorry but I dont know one person that owns an acura that would say that the nsx being in acura's line up had anything to do with their decision. Nobody cares that their car is made by the same company that has a car with the technology of the nsx. Unless its a car thats more afforable that can bring people into the dealership, I dont think it would make a difference. If Acura had a 40-50k sports car that they could turn a profit on, more people would come in to look at the car and would see other acura's while there. They may not walk a way with the sports car...but at the same time they could say "hey that car could replace the wife's current ride".

I just think that having a relatively affordable sports car would increase sales across the line.

 

Dammit! :rant: