A technological tour de force rather than a thoroughbred sports car, the Acura NSX leaves many people scratching their heads in confusion. For $157,500 before options and taxes, you would expect world-class performance. But as you already know, even the C8 Corvette Stingray whoops the hybrid supercar over the quarter-mile. And then some!
As opposed to the small-block V8 of the sports car from Bowling Green in Kentucky, the NSX combines a twin-turbo V6 with three (yes, three!) electric motors for a grand total of 573 horsepower and 476 pound-feet (645 Nm). Produced in Marysville at the Performance Manufacturing Center with locally-sourced parts, the NSX is a sales flop by every single account.
Honda gave up on the New Sports eXperience after the 2022 model year, which is going to yield 350 units of the NSX Type S. The go-faster variant is even costlier at $169,500 sans desirable goodies, which is probably double the manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the upcoming C8 Z06.
The NSX leaves much to be desired against a TT RS as well although the one in the following clip is a little special. Modified to crank out in the ballpark of 630 horsepower on full song, the German coupe is lighter at 1,440 kilograms (3,175 pounds) compared to 1,735 kilograms (3,825 pounds) for the hybrid supercar. This lightness explains how easy it covers the quarter-mile in the following clip from Driven Media, although the TT RS lost the first race by just one-tenth of a second over a milder tune of the engine control unit.
Second time on the blacktop, the Audi obliterates the Acura in 11.1 seconds compared to 11.3 seconds thanks to extra timing and a couple of extra pounds per square inch of boost. In the high-speed test, the NSX tops 175 miles per hour (281 kilometers per hour) while the TT RS surges to 180 miles per hour (290 kilometers per hour) before hitting the brake pedal. Speaking of which, emergency braking from 70 and 85 miles per hour (113 and 137 kilometers per hour) to naught ends in a double win for the Audi.
In the moose test, the results are a little mixed because the cars are twitchy on the limit. The NSX kicks out its tail at 48 miles per hour (77 kilometers per hour) while the TT RS hits a cone due to understeer at the same speed.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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