The future of the Acura NSX has been a whirlwind of rumors, conflicting reports from Honda and general uncertainty since the model was discontinued in 2005. A recent statement by Honda Research and Development chief Mibe Toshihiro doesn’t exactly clear everything up, but at least sheds light on the company’s current thinking regarding the sports car.
“We are now at a point where we can consider the next generation of electric and hybrid vehicles,” Toshihiro told Autocar. “President Ito has already mentioned a new NSX, and we have looked at that in the R&D department. It would be an interesting project – electric or hybrid vehicles can be fun as well as economical. More than that I cannot say.”
While Autocar interpreted Toshihiro’s words to mean that a new NSX was a done deal, we took them to indicate that Honda is simply contemplating an NSX with hybrid or electric propulsion.
Reports have signaled that Honda will show a concept car that previews a possible future NSX at the Tokyo show next month, and that a production car could unveiled in early 2012. However, given the on-again, off-again nature of the company’s commitment to a new NSX, those dates are unlikely to be set in stone.
References
1.’New Honda NSX…’ view
