2020 Acura NSX Review
Base Price: $157,500
Specs: 3.5 Liter Twin Turbo V6 with 3 electric motors
573 HP
0-60: 2.9 Seconds
—
Guy who did stuff: Yousef Alvi
This is the 2020 Acura NSX but before we dive into it…let’s talk about some history. The original NSX debuted in 1989 and while people tend to focus in on the low weight and naturally aspirated power (rightly so btw)…what the NSX did was solidify something we take for granted nowadays…Variable Valve Timing. The NSX was a testbed for the DOHC VTEC system and help Honda scale manufacturing techniques to be used across their entire model range. That is one of the most overlooked features of the original NSX…and it’s something that helps frame the new one.
As we peer into the past with rose colored spectacles…we tend to forget about the negatives. We tend to forget that the original NSX never really set the world on fire while it was in production. It was underpowered, it’s competitors were quicker and lacked brand prestige for its price point.
So much in fact that the NSX sold only 9000 units in the US for its entire run. The Porsche 911, on the other hand, sold that much just in the year 2000 alone! It took the likes of Gran Turismo, Best Motoring videos, the Tuner revolution and sadly the NSX’s demise for the acclaim that it deserved to be finally reaped.
So all of that helps to properly frame the new NSX. When this generation came out it set the world on fire but not in a good way. Every automotive pundit, keyboard jockey and toolbag extolled virtoil in spades because it wasn’t a carbon copy of the original. But, as I said in the beginning, they tend to forget what NSX stands for…New Sportscar eXperimental. Keyword…New. Second keyword…Experiment. What the NSX did in 1989….worked in 1989 but now the world has changed and technology has advanced.
Now the eXperiment is hybrid powertrains. So framing that idea…radically changes one’s mindset when it comes to the new NSX. If you approach this car as a testbed for achievable/approachable/scalable performance hybrid systems then it’s not just good…the new NSX is outstanding.
How outstanding? Let’s look at it from a technical perspective. The NSX has 4 (!) drive motors powering it’s wheels. 4!!! The turbocharged gas motor, 1 motor one each front wheel and one motor on the rear. You would think driving this would be a wayward mess uneven power delivery, jerky shifting and scary handling.
It isn’t. At all.
The NSX seamlessly blends all those drive motors into one organic experience. The NSX has power delivery that can only be described as ballistic! In every scenario you throw at it. It’s ballistic in a straight line, it’s ballistic INTO and OUT OF corners and face melting under braking. It is also approachable that anyone can get in and drive with no issues. Thin A pillars (like the original) offers excellent visibility, Quiet Mode is a God Send in early morning hours and in traffic and it’s a Honda/Acura so puttering around town it is effortless.
It’s like the original NSX in another regard as well. That generation was something that it’s lowly numbers never really equated to driving reality. One had to be behind the wheel to appreciate that car. The same goes with this generation…573 horsepower nowadays doesn’t sound like a lot. But the second you slip behind the wheel of the 2020 NSX and point it’s nose toward a mountain pass…then you can appreciate, admire and yes finally understand.
