If this week's Detroit motor show is anything to go by, then the Japanese are serious this time. Again. What you see here in official pictures is the all-new NSX in concept form wearing Acura, Honda's posh nameplate.
Fans outside the US need not worry because markets where Acura isn't represented will get it as Honda _ like the original model that was built from 1990-2005.
Honda has had quite a tumultuous time with development of its second-generation NSX (as you can read in the accompanying sidebar), despite a glamorous history of motor racing and sporty cars like the S2000, as well.
Just when it planned to roll out the new NSX after the ASC show car's debut in 2006, the world recession was on the horizon which eventually caused Honda to put the project on ice (and withdraw from F1 racing).
During that time, its compatriot rivals took advantage of the NSX's disappearance. Nissan made wild noises with its giant-slaying, price-cutting GT-R, while Toyota played the halo game for Lexus with the LFA.
And last year, Honda was severely hit by the tsunami in Japan and flooding in Thailand, so it had to hold onto its cash tightly.
Today, it appears Honda can't hold its breath anymore, hence the preview of this NSX. Honda's boss says the new NSX will be made at its Ohio plant in the US within three years.
- Great. Has Lotus helped design this prototype?
Oh no, although we understand your sentiments because the NSX looks like those raft of concept cars Lotus created last year when it susceptibly put the brand up for sale at the Paris motor show.
If you remember the small sports car concept of Honda at last December's Tokyo show, there's an affiliation with it in the NSX _ which is quite a good thing to make sporty cars within a brand familiar.
Note the angular design elements of the NSX that makes it far sharper in appearance than the first model. True, this is still a concept car, but we can only hope that Honda will build it just the way it looks here.
No picture of the interior _ is there one? _ has been disclosed. But given Honda's record of making ergonomic-friendly cabins, the new NSX should be a thoroughly easy car to live with and drive.
Let's not forget that the original NSX set a benchmark for others when it comes to driving ease on a daily basis, in spite of the mid-engine layout that's more or less suitable for driving aficionados.
- Will the engine position be the same?
Yup, according to Honda. But apart from the mid-ship configuration, a new feature for the NSX will be an advanced all-wheel-drive system to handle power distribution of the hybrid powertrain.
Honda isn't going into detail about the engine specs yet, but pundits believe that the 3.7-litre V6 could be sourced from the Legend flagship saloon and coupled to an electric system backed up by lithium-ion batteries. So while Nissan is boosting its V6 petrol with twin turbos, Honda will use electricity to lift power instead.
Honda's 2001 Dualnote concept car could be a useful pointer of the hybrid's goals: 400hp and 18kpl. Honda never made a performance claim, but it appears to be quite imperative that the new NSX must crack the 4.0sec time for the 0-100kph run.
That sounds like a good balance between performance and economy. In fact, Honda has repeatedly said that outright performance isn't the ultimate goal in its new flagship sports car; it must also be eco-friendly and possess a lightweight body.
- Hope they won't slot a CVT 'box into the NSX...
We certainly hope Honda wouldn't, too. When Honda came out with the CR-Z _ the modern-day iteration of the CR-X _ it offered comfort-oriented customers with a CVT automatic (a six-speed manual was rightfully available for driving enthusiasts).
OK, it is understandable that automatic transmission in sports cars is now a must these days due to congested roads, but CVTs really work only in easy-going city cars and not performance cars.
Life has learned that Honda is set to embrace dual-clutch technology because so many of the world's finest are using them: Bugatti, Ferrari and Porsche, as such.
Although Honda has been known to be experimenting with twin-clutchers for quite some time already, it is only now that it is taking such gearbox seriously and is set to use it for the first time in the MDX luxury SUV.
It would eventually be stretched down to the third-generation Jazz B-segment hatch _ due in mid-2013 _ after Honda was inspired by Volkswagen's application in its family cars like the Polo, Golf and Passat.
- Whew! What's the price target of the NSX, you reckon?
That's a question everybody wants to know. But we wager that the new NSX should be in the price vicinity of 10 million baht in Thailand (divide that by three for the rest of the developed world).
That puts it into the territory of the BMW M3, Nissan GTR and Porsche 911. Even better, it would be nice if the NSX undercut these by a small margin yet boast performance and green credentials.