A Sad Day for the NSX ...

[robrecht]

Amidst a troubled global economy, Honda is actively scaling back its operations, and its performance programs are sadly bearing the brunt. After canceling its participation in Formula One and the AMA motorbike road racing series, the Japanese automaker has reportedly announced that it is nixing development of the next-generation NSX supercar.

The unfortunate news will undoubtedly come as a stunning disappointment for the loyal legions of Honda/Acura sportscar fans. The new NSX, which looked to be nearing the end of its development on the road to production, was slated to be the most powerful car ever made by Honda, driven by an anticipated 560-horsepower V10.

According to Autocar, the goal-line audible came from none other than Takeo Fukui, Honda's CEO, who dropped the bombshell as part of a end-of-year speech to the troops. The news also means that Honda is suspending plans to finally bring the Acura nameplate to Japan, and it also calls into doubt the fate of the V10 engine itself, as well as any long-rumored V8 powertrains.

Honda hasn't ruled out the possibility of picking up where it left off once business is back in order, but in the meantime the original NSX, which ceased production in 2005 after fifteen years on the market, will have to remain without an heir.

Update: Acura spokesman Mike Spencer has confirmed to Autoblog that the NSX has indeed been canceled. We'll now never know how good it might have been.

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/17/b...dly-kills-nsx/

Amid the announcement of its third profit warning of the year, Honda has confirmed that it has canceled plans for the launch of a successor to the NSX supercar. The new V10-powered model was expected to arrive in the United States next year as an Acura, but sadly all development work on the car has come to an end.

Honda CEO Takeo Fukui confirmed the plan in his end of year speech, saying that all development of the car would cease. Fukui also revealed that plans to introduce the Acura brand to Japan in 2010 have all been canned, reports Automotive News.

The news comes less than two weeks after Honda announced that it planned to pull out of next year’s Formula One season, citing financial constraints as the main reason.

Honda also announced today that it is lowering its annual operating profit forecast by 67% - its third profit warning of the year. The carmaker now expects its operating profit for the business year to March 31 to be ¥180 billion ($2 billion) - down 81% from last year.

Instead, Honda will focus on developing more fuel-efficient hybrid and diesel models, especially in the compact car segments. Plans for a minicar positioned below the Fit (Jazz) are still on track, as are plans for the CR-Z hybrid sports car.

http://www.motorauthority.com/honda-...successor.html

[N_Jay]

Good news!!

It is nice to see a company lead by people who put doing the right thing for the company as a whole ahead of personal and corporate egos.

[rlapid]

i didn't really like the design of the nsx successor. when the economy gets back on track, they should just start from scratch with it, rather than pick up where they left off.

[robrecht]

Yes, it's definitely the only smart move in the current economy, but I'm still sad that it won't see the light of day, at least not any time soon.

[rocky]

Perhaps now they'll look at the S2000. Its getting pretty old in comparison to the Miata

[whizmo]

Doesn't surprise me a bit. Although I'm sure the new NSX would have been a good performer, it was taking forever to get to market and none of the early concepts were well received. I have no idea why anyone would buy one vs. the better performing GT-R for tens of thousands less.

I agree, put the R&D into relatively cheap/easy S2000 updates.

- Mark

[robrecht]

Originally posted by rocky
Perhaps now they'll look at the S2000.

Originally posted by whizmo
I agree, put the R&D into relatively cheap/easy S2000 updates.

- Mark

Well, sorry, but no such luck for the s2k, or other planned models:

http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsAr...llCars/236796/

Correction: The V8 RWD program may still be alive (NSX & s2k still dead, though):

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/09/w...program-still/