2023 Acura NSX Almost exactly a year ago, the Acura NSX EV Concept was revealed shortly before competing in the Car Modification Class at the 2016 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
Although it looks similar to the NSX GT3 race car, the EV prototype regains the previously removed AWD system. And, not to mention, it’s a pure EV. Could the NSX EV Concept be an experiment and preview of the next-generation NSX? Fully.
As it is ready for use in 2023, the third-generation NSX is currently in its early stages of development, and following the history of the NSX since 1990, the NSX EV makes sense. The original NSX was powered by a mid-engine V6 petrol engine that was revolutionary at the time.
Today’s NSX has a longitudinally-mounted twin-turbo V6 paired to three electric motors. The NSX EV Concept only has four electric motors. See the progress? Need more proof for the all-electric third-generation NSX?
Autocar recently spoke with Sekino Yosuke, Honda’s head of research and development during a demonstration of the NSX EV Concept going up to Pike’s Peak, stating that the concept is “not just a competing car.
I want to put such a car in production, and there is some research on it. We want our electric cars to be fun to drive, and it’s clear that this proposal, with around 1,000 hp, is fun and uses technology that could one day reach production.
We’re evaluating what’s possible right now.” And, by the way, the NSX EV Concept delivered results. It finished third overall in its class at last year’s Pike’s Peak. With one electric motor placed at each wheel, proven and SH-AWD system to be the ideal partner to deliver performance and thrilling driving experience. We also heard that this concept battery can take the car up to 200 miles on a single charge.
With battery technology improving rapidly, imagine what that range would be in five years. The 2023 Acura NSX has always been about progress and pushing the boundaries of technology. Heck, the name NSX stands for “New Sportscar eXperimental.”
The all-electric supercar is already proving itself (see: Rimac Concept One), and we’re sure to see more coming in just the next few years from brands big and small. Will Acura be one of them? We certainly think so.
2023 Acura NSX Preview
Can accelerate to 62 mph (100 kph) in just two and a half seconds. For last year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, 2023 Acura NSX developed a four-motor EV Concept with no less than 1,000 electrified horses. It went on to finish third overall in hill climbing in Colorado and was billed as “the world’s first supercar with four-wheel independent torque allocation.”
Fast forward to today, the person in charge of Honda’s research and development, Sekino Yosuke, told Autocar that the NSX-influenced concept was more than just a race car as the knowledge gained during the engineering process would be put to good use on the road-going model.
Honda’s head of R&D honcho admits that research has been done to find ways to implement the technology into cars you can actually buy, which will carry the concept’s stunning four-figure horsepower.
This fully electric race car weighs about 1,500 kilograms (3,306 pounds), so the production model will be much heavier. Despite the fat plus, early estimates suggest the next NSX could do 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) in just 2.5 seconds and finish 0-124 mph (0-200 kph) in 6.2 seconds.
As far as range is concerned, the concept battery pack has enough power for about 200 miles (322 km) if you don’t push it too hard. While a potential street-legal car won’t be able to match it due to the extra weight commanded by mandatory safety features and other additional hardware, the actual range could end up higher assuming battery technology will evolve in the years to come.
Given that the NSX has only been around since 2016, its successor is not expected to arrive before the end of the decade. With the convertible and Type R derivatives on the way, that likely means the whole new one won’t see the light of day until 2023, at least.
Hopefully, Honda and Acura won’t tease the third-generation NSX for years as they do with the current model.
2023 Acura NSX Hybrid
If you wake up at night worrying about the fate of a low-volume high-performance supercar, you may need to stop it. There are more pressing problems facing the world today. Plus, you can stop worrying about at least one such sports car—the 2023 Acura NSX, at least for a few years.
A leak from an internal Acura dealer webinar reveals a chart detailing some of the automaker’s product plans for the next few years. An important inclusion is the NSX, which is represented as part of the lineup throughout 2023.
See, supercars that cost a lot of money to develop and produce while being sold in small quantities don’t really represent a slam-dunk business case, thus threatening their very existence, and the NSX is an extreme example.
Acura sold 238 copies of the car in 2019 — barely reaching sales, especially considering how Porsche managed to move nearly 10,000 911s that same year. Somehow, though, the NSX was kept for at least two more model years.
We reached out to Acura for more details, and here’s what it said in response:
We’ve expressed Acura’s unwavering commitment to precision-crafted performance since the launch of the second-generation NSX. While this presentation is intended for 2023 Acura NSX dealers and is not exhaustive or definitive, it shows that we intend to deliver on the brand promise. , step by step, starting with TLX 2021.
Okay, that doesn’t really explain everything, but it also doesn’t disprove the basic idea that the NSX isn’t in immediate danger. What neither the leak nor Acura’s answer later yields is whether or not we’ll see the much-rumored high-performance NSX Type-R in that two-year span (or forever).
It is possible that the plans for that were simply abandoned. As Acura said, the graph you saw earlier is uncertain.
We’ve been hot and cold with the NSX since its launch in 2017. At first, we thought it could be sharper, faster, more exotic, basically. 2023 Acura NSX addressed some of those concerns with some tweaks as part of the 2019 update for the NSX, and the supercar now feels fuller, more valuable, and a true contender in a crowded corner of the sports car market.
Good to know that the NSX will (presumably) be with us for a while, and we can’t wait to see what 2023 Acura NSX has in store for its new sports car.
2023 Acura NSX Specs
If you like the idea of a supercar that you can drive every day, the 2023 Acura NSX is a great choice. Getting in and out isn’t as difficult as other six-digit sports cars like the McLaren 570S, and unlike the Mercedes-AMG GT, the hybrid drive can be quiet when you need it.
Don’t assume it doesn’t have excessive acceleration force – what does 573 hp sound like? The flexibility of starting the drag strip in a minute and walking quietly into your next high-end environment makes the NSX unique.
Despite its impressive performance, it’s not quite as impressive as the similarly priced Porsche 911 Turbo – but the ride is smooth enough not to be hit hard on asphalt roads.
2023 Acura NSX is slated to finally unveil a new version of the second-generation NSX supercar, which was first launched in 2016 as a 2017 model.
The two have been rumored for years, and 2023 Acura NSX even teased the possibility of an NSX convertible with an NSX roadster movie prop made for “The Avengers” of 2012 (see above).
Readers may recall that the original NSX also had an open version. It’s a Targa with removable roof panels, however, and any new NSX drop-top will likely have an auto-folding roof.
As for the NSX Type R, fans of the original NSX will remember that the Type R version launched in 1992, two years after the regular car debuted. NSX-R was modified to improve track performance and included improvements like stiffer suspension and lighter curb weight.
According to the source, the modern NSX Type R is boosted from 573 hp up to 650 hp. It is unclear whether the performance boost comes from the 3.5-liter V6 with twin-turbocharging or the trio of electric motors, or both.
Acura’s second-generation NSX has not made quite as much impact on the supercar scene as the original did two decades ago. The United States is the largest auto market, and only 238 were sold here in 2019 – and at some pretty hefty discounts. 2023 Acura NSX would be well advised to create some excitement by rolling out a new version.
The latest update for the NSX is the addition of two paint options for 2020 inspired by the colors used on the original NSX. 2023 Acura NSX has yet to announce whether there are any changes for the 2021 model year.
- VEHICLE TYPE: mid-engine, front, and center motor, all-wheel drive, 2 passengers, 2 door coupe
- POWERTRAIN: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.5-liter V-6, 500 hp, 406 lb-ft + 3 permanent magnet synchronous AC motors, F: 36 hp, 54 lb-ft (each); M: 47 hp, 109 lb-ft (combined output, 573 hp, 476 lb-ft, 1.0 kWh lithium-ion battery)
- TRANSMISSION: F: 1-speed direct drive, M: 9-speed automatic dual-clutch with manual shift mode
- DIMENSIONS
- Wheelbase: 103.5 in
- Length: 176.0 in
- Width: 76.3 in
- Height: 47.8 in
- Passenger Volume: 55 cu ft
- Trunk Volume: 4 cu ft
- Curb weight (C/D est): 3900 lb
- PERFORMANCE ( C/D EST)
- Zero to 60 mph: 3.1 seconds
- Zero to 100 mph: 7.0 seconds
- Standing -mile: 11.2 seconds
- Top speed: 191 mph
- EPA FUEL ECONOMY ( C/D EST)
- Combined/city/highway: 21/21/22 mpg
Read next: The New Spoiler 2023 Acura RDX Preview
2023 Acura NSX Interior
Touted as an everyday supercar, the NSX is certainly comfortable and intuitive enough for anyone to use as a daily driver. But the cabin lacks the premium feel and luxurious amenities one would expect from a 2023 Acura NSX, let alone one that is meant to compete with the best from the UK and Germany.
Our test car featured optional leather-and-suede seats, a faux-suede headliner, and a carbon-fiber cut steering wheel. Bright red skin appeals to the younger ones among our staff, but some find it tacky and youthful. While the seats are comfortable, we prefer more thigh support, and enthusiastic drivers will likely want more side support too.
For something marketed as an everyday supercar, the NSX’s interior storage space isn’t that great. The trunk is located directly behind the machine, which may be problematic to transport your Häagen-Dazs home. Plus, we managed to fit only one of our carry-on luggage into the small trunk.
A 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with integrated navigation comes standard and connects to the ELS Studio nine-speaker stereo. Like some of the rest of the interior, the touchscreen system is taken from the lesser Acura and Honda, and the same complaints we have about them apply here too.
The system interface looks outdated, and we found the menu settings unintuitive. Even worse, the lack of redundant buttons and a heavy touch-sensitive volume slider, which makes precise adjustments difficult, adds an extra layer of complexity.
2023 Acura NSX Engine
While it’s sure to satisfy your need for speed, the NSX can’t beat some major rivals like the Audi R8 or McLaren 570S. It still stalled lightning-fast acceleration times in our tests and managed to run 3.1 seconds from zero to 60 mph.
However, the Silent mode, which uses only electricity, provides something that its competitors lack: wisdom. The NSX’s hybrid-electric powertrain combines a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 with three electric motors for a combined total of 573 horsepower.
The V-6, a nine-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and one of the electric motors work as a team to drive the rear wheels. The other two electric motors operate independently to drive the front wheels, effectively providing the NSX all-wheel drive.
In Silent and Sport modes, steering is direct and accurate but light to the touch, which we think is an attempt to make the NSX feel like an everyday maneuver. Such an arrangement, however, feels out of place in such a performance-oriented vehicle.
In Sport Plus and Track modes, the electric power steering system adds more weight. Regardless of the setting, the steering remains sharp, and the car responds intelligently to even the slightest driver input.
Read next: The Extraordinary 2023 Acura ILX Preview
2023 Acura NSX MPG
Hybrid vehicles are more efficient in stop-and-go city traffic than their gasoline-only rivals, and the 2023 Acura NSX is no different. The EPA’s 21 mpg city rating beats the Audi R8 V-10 by a whopping 7 mpg.
The Porsche 911 Carrera 4S equals the NSX’s 21 mpg rating in the city and beats the 2023 Acura NSX on the highway with its 28 mpg rating; The 2023 Acura NSX is rated at 22 mpg on the highway.
In our real-world highway fuel-economy test, the 2023 Acura NSX delivered a decent 23 mpg, slightly beating its EPA ratings, but lagging behind its non-hybrid rivals.
2023 Acura NSX Release Date
We see that there is no official calendar published by 2023 Acura NSX, but we speculate that the Acura NSX 2023 will be present at the end of December 2022.
2023 Acura NSX Price
2023 Acura NSX does not separate the NSX line into finishes, so there is only one model that you can customize to your liking. We like bright colors, so opting for Indy Yellow or Thermal Orange is a must; any of the shades will cost you more.
You can go crazy with interior colors; nothing costs extra, and the schemes include indigo blue, red, saddle (brown), orchid (pale white), and ebony. If you can withstand the added expense (with a choice of silver, red, or orange calipers), the carbon-ceramic brake rotors are worth upgrading if you plan on taking your 2023 Acura NSX to the track.
- NSX $169,495
